Forever Yours: The Warders' Chronicles
by formerAnnie
Summary: Two orphaned girls stumble into Narnia while playing with some new-found friends in an old professor's mansion. When the Lion asks them to guard Narnia faithfully and single-mindedly to its end, will suffering, time, and love be their downfall?
1. Prologue: Terrors

Thanks I love dance, Katie Ladmoore, and DragonRider2000 for reviewing the last chapter of _Light Beyond Shadow_!

For my new readers, _italics_ are for flashbacks, I separate flashbacks that are together with '_SSSSS_' my prologues are in no particular point of view, and I tend to match songs up with some scenes. Oh, and, due to my potential writing an original story of my own, I may only get a chapter in here every two weeks instead one like usual, but we'll see. Thirdly, I'll probably mix the movies and books for this story; I'll use the movie for a good chunk of the descriptions and dialogue, but most likely stick to the books when the movies veer too far from the original storyline. Finally, for my own selfish reasons, I'm going to probably make at least a couple of the Pevensies different ages than they are in the books by a couple of years. Enjoy!

Prologue: Terrors

"Up on your toes, Kathryn."

The girl squeaked as the prune of a ballet instructor switched her bottom with the polished little stick in her hand. None of the students knew much about the teacher except that she was from France, that she was excellent in her profession, and that she was incredibly strict.

The student she had just swatted was shorter than the other girls by a good inch with dark, nearly black, straight, shoulder-length hair with bangs, narrow (not slanted), light blue eyes, a fairly small nose, small ears, and pouty lips. Because of her faintly tinted complexion and other almost Asian features, she was by far not the most popular person in school or in her treasured ballet classes. Even though her deceased mother had only been part Asian and was born in England, the War had shortened the tempers of many adults and consequently widened the torment range of the kids.

* * *

'Daisy' Benten had earned her nickname for her talent of popping up in the most unexpected places, even though she wasn't particularly quiet or mischievous…usually...most of the time...at least, some of the time. Her parents wouldn't let her drive the car (she was, after all, only fourteen!), but if she walked to the studio where she had promised to pick up her younger cousin, at this point, she was going to be quite late. At least, that was her excuse.

The big hazel eyes which peeked over the milk cartons to gaze at the box-like automobile belonged to a pale, rounded face with a small nose and rounded ears that stuck out ever so slightly (but not noticeably) through her wavy, medium brown, waist-length hair. No one was around to notice that the vehicle would be missing, since her mother was volunteering at the hospital and her father and uncle were moving refugees into one of the bomb shelters for the next inevitable attack.

Her thin, girlish figure slipped smoothly into the car and she started the engine.

She looked at the sky. The sun was just going down.

* * *

The ballerina and teacher came out of the aged studio as they heard the car drive up in the dark.

"It must be Aunt Agnes. Thank you for waiting with me, Madame," the girl said, cocking her head timidly.

"My pleasure, Kathryn. Just remember to stay on your toes."

They giggled together, completely contrasting the stern matron and frightened student from earlier. In reality, the Madame spoiled the misfit with particularly tough training and homemade cookies.

"Can…can I come ride Jezza tomorrow?"

"Of course, dear." Smiling and biting her lip, the girl hopped into the car, which drove away a second later. "Daisy! You're not supposed to be driving!"

"Oh, please," the older girl grumbled, pushing down on the accelerator a little more. "Aren't you going to thank me for picking you up, Thai?"

"Don't call me that, Margaret!" the younger one cried. "It's bad enough the other kids do."

Daisy rolled her eyes and was about to make some smart retort, but she abruptly hit the brakes, screaming as a nearby building suddenly exploded and the city alarms went off.

"Get out! Run, Kate!" the lighter brunette called, getting out of the car and grabbing her cousin as she headed for shelter.

"Stop!"

"What?"

"If that building blew up, what makes you think we'll be safe in another one?"

After a moment's hesitation, Margaret got back into the vehicle and nervously continued driving to the home of herself, her parents, Kathryn, and her dad. It took them about fifteen minutes to reach the house. Just as Daisy had planned, no one was around to know that the forbidden had been done and both girls innocently went about their business of heading for bed, the room of which they had shared for the past three years.

Early the next morning, they were packing for their day of volunteering at the nearest hospital where Daisy's mother worked when a knock resounded on the front door. The older girl went to answer it, expecting one of her family members. Instead, she was met by a tall, young woman with sad, yet official eyes who was obviously there for a reason.

Once she was seated at the dining room table with a cup of tea, the newcomer set her small case on the surface and spoke.

"You must be Margaret and Kathryn Benten."

"I'm Margaret," the taller one said darkly, not liking the woman's forced cheerfulness.

"I'm sorry that I have to be the one to tell you this, but…"

"No," Daisy muttered, remembering that exact line being said at her best friend's house just before it was announced that her father had been killed.

"Your fathers were bringing some injured refugees to the hospital when it was hit last night and…"

"Which hospital?" Kathryn interrupted, her eyes beginning to brim with tears.

"The one about a mile east of here… We contacted your next closest relative and…"

Again, the messenger was interrupted as the younger girl bolted up the stairs. The other one glared a moment at the offender before following.

She found Kathryn on her bed…not sobbing, but letting tears just flow down her cheeks in a silent waterfall. It had been three years since she had lost her mother, so the sting was not new to her; it was, however, completely new for Margaret, who soon joined her cousin on the bed and sobbed.

* * *

"_...It's safer there…and the fresh country air will do you some good. We'll have everything sorted out when you get back. Try to enjoy yourselves, dears."_

That was what their Aunt Polly had told them before stuffing them onto a train for hours, only a week after the disaster, to be met by the housekeeper of some mysterious 'friend of the family' who was apparently a genius professor. Despite the natural fear and sorrow, Daisy was attracted by the idea of their host being a professor, while Kate was interested in the supposed open space.

Mrs. Macready, who met them at the desolate station in a cart drawn by a white draft horse, was a relatively intimidating character, who drilled the girls about the house rules all the way to the giant mansion, and was overall very much like Kate's ballet teacher. The second they pulled up to the front door and began hauling their luggage out of the carriage, the door opened to reveal an elderly, but almost mischievous-looking man, who was just a few inches taller than Daisy.

"I thought you were going to be in your study for the rest of the day, Professor," the wrench of a woman said.

"I changed my mind, Mrs. Macready," the gentleman replied upon his graceful approach with a cheerful voice and twinkling eyes. "I thought the least I could do for the relatives of Polly was to greet them at the door."

"Thank you…Professor," the younger cousin said quietly. The sudden neighing of a horse broke through the peace, producing a short squeal of delight from Kathryn and a sour pout from Margaret when the other orphan ran straight to the fence near the house where a somewhat tall, black and white painted mare stood. When she came jogging back, red in the face from the sudden joy, she stuttered, "How…?"

"Madam Genare, your dancing tutor, was apparently a friend of Polly, so the dear girl convinced me to take Jezza away from the city until everything settled down. I see you've already met." Kate nodded, biting her lip again, but the Professor looked at Daisy just as she started feeling a little left out. "And you must be the intellectual I heard about. You and I are going to make quite the team, I think. Come to my study tomorrow, if you can. There are many things I think you'll find quite interesting."

Though still a little sour over Kate getting all of the primary attention, Daisy smiled at the opportunity.

"Dais," the younger girl began, "let's get our stuff."

"Yes, uh, Mrs. Macready will show you your room."

* * *

Dinner had ended hours ago. The dishes had been cleaned, Jezza had been fed, and everything was unpacked. The room the young Bentens had been placed in was quite large with a sprawl-accepting bed on either side, two oak writing desks, two large dressers with mirrors, two wash stands, and an adjacent bathroom.

Kathryn was curled up in the dry bathtub with the lights turned off, just like she had always done when the bombs were going off in their city home for the past few weeks or so.

"Kate?"

The seated girl looked up at her cousin.

"Listen," Kate whispered; her friend froze after squatting down.

"What? I don't hear anything."

"That's just it. It's quiet…too quiet…and it scares me."

"You know, you need to buck up a bit."

The younger girl glared.

"And you need to quit being such a pain."

Daisy laughed before suddenly sobering.

"They're gone, aren't they? It's not just a dream…a bad dream."

* * *

The Pevensies raced towards their little shelter in the chaos of the bombs going off nearby. Suddenly, Edmund, the second youngest, made a U-turn and ran back toward the house, yelling,

"Wait! Dad!"

"Ed!" the eldest boy cried, trying to grab his sibling.

"Come back here!" their mother cried.

"I'll get him!" The two boys rushed back into the house and it wasn't until Ed had already grabbed his beloved picture that Peter caught up and hurled the younger boy to the floor as an explosion rang out, shattering the windowpane and sprinkling them with glass. "Come on, you idiot. Run!"

Ed grabbed the picture from the floor and his brother charged back to the shelter, tossing him to the floor of the small bunker. Peter, of course, had his fair share of yelling to do at Edmund for his irresponsibility and was, of course, chastised for it by their mother as the little brother started crying.

"Why can't you just do as you're told?" he finished. Instead of a final word, Ed got the final glare as his mother hugged him comfortingly.

Ever since the start of the War, the Pevensie siblings had fallen apart. The bombings had brought shortened tempers and long grudges. Something had to happen to change that.

Thanks for reading and please review! Just so you know, my chapters aren't usually this short, with exception of the prologue. :)


	2. Distractions

Thanks DragonRider2000 for your review! You are amazing! :)

Distractions

The children looked around uncertainly as Mrs. Macready led them up the massive staircase.

"The professor is unaccustomed to having children in his house, and as such, there are a few rules we need to follow. There will be no shoutin' or runnin', no improper use of the dumbwaiter…" She swiftly turned when Susan reached out to touch a carved bust. "No touching of the historical artifacts!" At the top of the stairs, she ominously pointed to the door with light coming from underneath. "And above all, there shall be no disturbin' of the Professor."

Lucy lagged behind as her siblings continued to the hallway. Suddenly, there was a flash of a shadow beyond the crack, scaring the girl and causing her to scurry after the others.

* * *

Daisy bent down, staring intently at the little mechanism on the work bench.

"It's amazing! What is it for, exactly?"

"I thought you'd like it. With all of the hullaballoo about 'torches', I decided to make one that might be of some use…small and out-of-the-way, but effective, unlike those other big, unwieldy things. I'm a bit nervous about how it might be used, but I have some plans that might solve that problem. As for its use, I think you can guess. I showed it to your cousin this morning while you were taking a bath and she bent down just as you are doing now. The difference is that you actually seem interested. I don't think she likes technology," the Professor finished secretively.

"You're perfectly right about that. Do you have a gun?"

The twinkle in his eye came back with a vengeance.

"Well, I do, but…"

She didn't let him finish, opening her small cloth shoulder bag and snatching a revolver from it. Kirke's eyebrows shot up in surprise, even as she fixed the little lamp to underside of its barrel and turned it on, in awe by how bright such a small thing could be.

"How is it powered? Does it use batteries? How often do they need to be changed?"

The old man tapped the side of his nose with one finger.

"That's the secret. It will work as long as you need. The question I should be asking is: How did a fourteen-year-old girl come by a nice weapon like that?"

The rebellious side in Margaret jumped forward and her eyes narrowed to a point her family was quite familiar with.

"Why should I tell you?"

The Professor, not flustered at all, simply sat in a nearby lounge chair, just as casual as before.

"You are under my roof and my protection. I think that merits a few answers."

She sighed. While she liked this fellow so far, she wasn't sure if she trusted him enough. Fondly, she caressed the polished wooden handle.

"It's…It was…my father's. He carried one with him, but he always kept this one in his bedside table. I remember him sitting in bed polishing it while Mama read to us."

"What kind is it?"

It was strange how interested, yet neutral, he seemed to be.

"It's an Enfield Number Two Mark One revolver."

"You took it for memories…and security?" She nodded. Just as abruptly as it had begun, the mood ended with his standing. "I believe I heard Mrs. Macready introducing the newcomers to the old house. You should introduce yourself. You could surely use someone more interesting than an ol' gopher like me."

The girl scoffed, but asked,

"Newcomers?"

"Yes; didn't either of us mention that to you? Oh, dear! I recently volunteered to take in some children from one of the bombed cities and they were supposed to arrive today…four siblings; two boys and two girls. You should give them a tour."

She laughed, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the idea of socializing.

"I've only been here a day and a half!"

"That's a day and a half more than what they have."

Removing the light from her gun and stuffing the weapon back in her bag, Daisy slid out the door, softly closed it behind her, turned to go down the hall to her room, and ended up running straight into another body.

"Ow! Watch where you're going!" the boy cried, nearly falling over.

Margaret was thoroughly annoyed by the whiny tone of the other child and pursed her lips to make that clear. He was scrawny and a decent two inches shorter than her with nearly black hair that had a slight wave to it, big brown eyes, a short nose, almost girlishly plump lips (at least with how he was momentarily sulking), round ears, and a flushed complexion with a few freckles.

"Me watch where I'm going?" her normally sweet, slightly nasally voice screeched, earning an even more perturbed look from the offender. "A pipsqueak like you should have learned to dodge by now. Who are you, anyway?"

"My name is Edmund Pevensie and I am eleven." She smirked when he seemed so proud of that fact. "Who are you?"

"Margaret Benten…and I'm fourteen."

He promptly opened his mouth for a retort.

* * *

The fifteen-year-old boy, young man…whatever he was considered anymore…walked out the front door and breathed a deep sigh of relief for the quiet at last. From the sounds emanating through the doorway before he had sealed it, it was apparent that Ed had found a new person to argue with. Luckily, with his sisters still unpacking, he had some time to himself.

Peter Pevensie was relatively tall, though not quite full grown, with overall straight, dirty blond hair, almond-shaped, deep blue eyes, a somewhat short, average-sized nose, a fairly small, though well-formed mouth, middle-sized ears, and an almost regal jaw line. The responsibility put upon him since his father had gone to fight in the War made his light eyebrows tend towards furrowing and, when he was alone, rarely allowed a smile. At the moment, he was concerned over whether the War would actually end soon, if his father would even come home, and how he could possibly continue being the 'man of the house' when he was still practically a kid himself.

Something which sounded like a horse caught his attention. On the right side of the house from the front door, was a fence which seemed to go on forever, as did the green fields, rolling hills, and luscious forests. The source of the noise, a black and white paint, soon came into view, along with its rider. The dark-haired, misty blue-eyed girl looked to be about Ed's age, but, when not on a horse, she was perhaps slightly shorter. Her figure was still that of a child's, but her piercing eyes made the girl seem slightly older than that. As she came closer, he noted that she was wearing a thick, buttoned, wooly green sweater, sturdy, loose black pants, and black riding boots. Her straight, dark hair had two braids on the sides to keep it from getting in the way. When she neared the fence, the rider flashed him a smile which displayed straight, perfectly white teeth…but there was something almost sad about the smile.

"I'm Kathryn…but my friends call me Kate," she said, her voice quiet, soft, and clear. "You must be one of the new people Mrs. Macready was grumbling about this morning."

Peter smiled back, laughing at the idea of the old vulture grumbling over a kitchen stove.

"I suppose so. I'm Peter, by the way."

"A pleasure." With that, she swung down from the saddle (an ordinary saddle, mind you…not the usual English style of ladies) and started removing the tack. (She didn't even reach his shoulder) Out of the corner of her eye, she seemed to study him. "How old are you, anyway? …just being curious."

"Fifteen," he said offhandedly as he hopped over the fence to help with the gear. "You?"

Her reply was somewhat regretful and urged Peter to lift her spirits.

"Twelve."

"Well! You're a year older than my younger brother!"

She blushed slightly and bit her lip while releasing the horse.

"How old are your other siblings?"

"My sisters are fourteen and nine…why?"

Kathryn giggled mildly.

"My cousin's fourteen."

Then, it dawned on him.

"Ah…I can see the competition already."

"Let the war for domination begin."

With the mentioning of the word 'war', the light mood instantly sobered, even as Peter helped his new acquaintance carry the saddle to a somewhat large barn behind the mansion.

* * *

"You almost take as much time unpacking as you do packing," the nine-year-old groaned, sitting on top of the huge bed she and her sister would share. Lucy was quite small, understandably for her age, with short, dark hair, freckles, thin lips, a small nose, little ears, and striking blue eyes. All-in-all, she was purely adorable.

Susan looked up while gently folding away yet another pair of stockings. Lucy barely reached her shoulder; though she had the same nose, eyes, and ears, her lips were more plump and shapely. Overall, she was very mature, pretty, and regal. While she had a kind heart, many people her age resented her for her beauty and popularity.

"At least I don't just toss them in wrinkled like you do."

A new face with long brown hair and brown eyes peeked through the door, followed by the rest of the body. The girl was wearing a brown, shin-length woolen skirt, brown stockings, black shoes, and a light red short-sleeved top. Though she looked Susan's age and was the same height, she was quite shapeless.

"Well, at least this argument seems a bit more my style," she said sweetly with a little smile, leaning on the bedpost. "I'm Margaret…but you can call me Daisy. My Aunt Polly…well, she's technically my grandmother, but we call her our aunt anyway…she sent my cousin and I to live here for the summer."

The older sibling smiled back, quite liking this new friend.

"I'm Susan and this is Lucy."

Daisy cocked her head slightly.

"Quite nice to meet you both. I've only been here for a day, but, if there's anything I can help with, my room is at the end of the hall on the left."

"Who's your cousin?" Lucy piped up, congenial as always.

"Kate…Well, Kathryn, but most people call her Kate." Something told Susan that there was a lie somewhere in that phrase. "She's down riding the horse."

"There's a horse?" the younger girl squealed, getting up on her knees excitedly.

The newcomer's smiled faded a little. This was apparently not her most prized subject, with which Susan could quite sympathize. It wasn't that she didn't like animals. They just…weren't exactly her topmost priority…accept for cats, that is.

"Yes…where do you live?"

"Finchley," Susan put forward. "What about you?"

"London."

"Really? What's it like living there?"

Lucy leaned back on the bed, apparently bored.

"Most of the time it's nice because of all the people, but it can be quite stifling sometimes."

"So, what brought you here, exactly?"

Just as Lucy perked up, Daisy drooped.

"Uh, just visiting…"

"Daisy, there you are!" a girl at the doorway cried. She was a couple inches shorter than the two older girls with dark hair and small, cloudy blue eyes. She almost, but not quite, looked Asian and she had a quiet, somewhat soothing voice. "Oh, I'm Kate, by the way. Daisy, I need your help with something."

* * *

Once they were in their room, Margaret shut the door and turned around.

"Thank you!" she breathed.

"I do need to vent a bit, though, Dais," the younger girl said, biting her lip again.

"What?"

_Finished with her ride, Kathryn trotted Jezza back towards the barn, deep in thought. When she neared the fence, she caught sight of a tall, golden-haired young man with soulful blue eyes and kingly features._

"_I'm Kathryn…but my friends call me Kate," she said quietly. "You must be one of the new people Mrs. Macready was grumbling about this morning."_

_The boy smiled warmly, but sadly, and laughed. Though Kate wasn't normally the type to act too rashly...normally...she honestly wanted to melt._

"_I suppose so. I'm Peter, by the way."_

_The calming tenor voice perfectly matched his appearance. _

"_A pleasure." With that, she swung down from the saddle and started removing the tack, discreetly glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "How old are you, anyway? …just being curious."_

"Have you met the oldest of the new kids?"

"No, why?" As voices began ringing through the hall, Daisy peeked back out before closing the door again. "Whoa. Impressive. Hey, have you seen the younger boy?"

"No, why?"

Kate opened the door a crack and looked through herself, seeing the dark-haired boy who looked like he thought he knew everything.

* * *

"German aircraft carried out several attacks on Great Britain last night," the radio announcer droned. Tired of hearing such bad news, especially with Lucy there, Susan turned the machine off. Hearing a sniffle from behind them, both older siblings turned back to their little sister in the bed, Peter sitting down and Susan leaning on the bedpost.

"The sheets feel scratchy," the young girl complained weakly.

"Wars don't last forever, Lucy," Susan said with the most encouraging tone she could muster. "We'll be home soon."

"Yeah, if home's still there," Edmund whined, coming in, breaking the warm atmosphere, and ruining the work Susan and Peter had done in lightening the mood.

"Isn't time you were in bed?"

"Yes, Mum!" he exclaimed, perturbed.

"Ed!" Peter scolded forcefully, earning the tenth sulk from the boy that day alone before the attention was redirected to cheering the youngest. "You saw outside. This place is huge! We'll be able to do whatever we want and we even have some new friends. Tomorrow's going to be great…really."

Finally, the little girl smiled slightly.

* * *

A scream ripped Margaret from her deep slumber. When she looked over, Kate was sitting straight up in bed, sobbing hysterically, so the older girl went over to her, thinking she was just going to give a hug and everything would be fine…but her cousin just pushed her away frantically, pressed herself against the headboard, and began saying something over and over again, though Daisy couldn't pick out the words.

"Kate, what's wrong? Come on, tell me!" she desperately whispered. When her efforts were proven to be naught, a thought occurred to her. There was one other girl in this house who would know.

Tearing out of the room in her long, white nightgown, the orphan unceremoniously burst into the other girls' room, harshly whispering,

"Susan! I need your help."

With surprising grace, the other fourteen-year-old whirled out of bed to face her.

"What's wrong?"

"It's my cousin. She must have had a bad dream or something, but she's hysteric."

Without needing another word, Susan grabbed her robe and rushed out, followed by her fellow females.

* * *

Hearing a strange noise, Peter shot out of bed and opened the door just in time to see three girls in night attire flying down the hall into the end room. With a drowsy Edmund trailing, he followed the pattering feet and nearly ran into the teenager he assumed to be Margaret, who was standing right inside the doorway while Susan sat on the bed with Kathryn sobbing into her lap, saying,

"I'm alone. They're dead," over and over again.

"You're not alone," Susan cooed. "We're all here. And you'll get to see your parents when you get back home."

Kate shook head quickly.

"They're gone. My parents are…dead."

Susan turned on a seemingly numb Daisy with fire in her eyes.

"But you said…"

"I lied," the subject of accusation stated coldly. "Her dad and my parents were…killed in a bomb strike last week. We're here because we probably won't have much of a home to go back to."

"Yes, we will!" Kate suddenly hissed, raising her tear-stained face defiantly. "Aunt Polly will take care of us."

"Since when did Grandma take care of us? All she's done is ship us to the middle of nowhere to get over everything and move on."

"What about Kate's mum?" Ed interjected unexpectedly.

"Three years ago, she was killed in the crossfire of a downtown shooting. It seems the wide open country isn't enough to get her mind off of things."

As Kate glowered at her cousin, Peter found a new perspective of the two girls. They were more like his own family than he had thought.

"Stop it!" Lucy cried. "Can't any of you do anything but argue?"

"Quiet down there!" Mrs. Macready's voice resonated from upstairs.

Peter sighed before coaxing everyone to bed.

"Come on; let's get some sleep. We'll get a fresh start in the morning."

Thanks for reading and please review!


	3. A New World

Thank you Noel Ardnek very much for your review!

A New World

So much for a great day! None of the Pevensies, even Lucy, had awakened earlier than 8:30 that morning to pouring rain, and yet, after nearly an hour of trying to figure out what to do, the children had finally settled for playing a game Susan suggested which almost made doing nothing entertaining in comparison. By the fifth word or so of guessing the origin and meaning of some ridiculously long words, Daisy had joined them and quickly grew tired of sitting around as well; so, she and Edmund somehow both found some idle interest in the woodwork on the bottom of a nearby table/cabinet.

In an unnamable sort of way, the new girl was rather pretty, though Ed would have been loath to admit it, being of the age of acute embarrassment potential. The older sister kept assuming that her eyes were brown, while they were in fact hazel. While she and Susan seemed to hit it off like cackling chickens when they were alone, the unfamiliar fourteen-year-old also seemed to know when silence was prudent…which, frankly, he found quite the relief. His siblings' need to talk and act like everything was just dandy frequently got on his nerves…and that often got him in trouble with them.

"Gas-tro-vas-cu-lar," Susan pronounced slowly. Peter, who was slouched in a lounge chair, was longingly staring behind him out the window, near which Lucy was seated. "Come on, Peter: Gastro vascular!"

"Is it Latin?" the eldest boy tiredly guessed.

"Yes." She only seemed half satisfied with the answer. With that, Ed leaned out from under the cabinet, saying,

"Is it Latin for: worst game ever invented?"

Susan fitfully slammed the giant, dusty dictionary shut as Daisy popped out from her own post to give the boy a decent glare that could have slaughtered an army.

"We could play hide-and-seek," Lucy offered, running to Peter. The fifteen-year-old rolled his head back towards the angered older lass, sarcastically arguing,

"…but we're already having so much fun."

Lucy didn't get the dark humor, especially since nobody laughed.

"Please! Please!"

His lips quirked into a mischievous smile.

"One, two, three, four…"

As he continued counting, everyone scattered. Ed himself ran out of the room with Margaret and parted ways there. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her running down the hall with Susan and, a moment later, he saw the perfect hiding place and pushed Lucy out of the way to beat her to the curtain.

* * *

"Get! I was here first!" Edmund yelled, rudely pushing the little girl out of the way. After throwing her sibling a dirty look, Lucy continued running and trying to find the best hiding place possible. She tried the doors on one level before finding one that opened, whereupon she encountered the younger Benten coming towards her down the hall with a mug of what appeared to be tea in her hand. While she was dressed, wearing black, ankle-high laced boots, black stockings, a black and green, knee-length wool checkered skirt, and a thin green, slip-over wool sweater, her hair still looked slightly messy, as if she had just gotten up. To the young child's great relief, she was only about as tall as Ed, so she didn't tower like the others.

Smiling, Lucy motioned for her to come into the adjacent room. She could hear Peter distantly counting, "…seventy-three, seventy-four…"

"Are you playing hide-and-seek?"

Nodding, Lucy looked in awe at the huge…thing…at the end of the room. Slowly, she pulled the sheet off to reveal a massive, gorgeous wardrobe and, slightly desperate for a hiding place, opened the door, allowing several mothballs to roll out. Turning back before diving into the soft fur coats, she said,

"You can hide here with me, if you want."

"I'll be there in a second," Kate replied, moving probably to set her tea down in the corner where it wouldn't be found instantly by the seeker.

With that, Lucy let the door slip shut about halfway as Peter reached the eighties and began easing her way backwards towards the back of the closet. The problem was: the wardrobe seemed to be endless. She kept going further and there were more furs. Just as she seriously began to doubt her momentary soundness of mind, she gasped in shock and turned around when her fingers felt something cold and prickly. Facing the strange occurrence, she discovered what seemed to be trees and…snow.

* * *

Setting her tea down as quickly as possible without making too much noise, Kathryn slinked after the younger girl as she heard Peter counting, "…eighty-six, eighty-seven…" She looked forward to seeing the young man's face when he saw her hiding in the closet, since he hadn't even known of her participation; but, she also dreaded the idea of facing anyone again after the last night. Running into Lucy was a pure accident.

The last time she had had nightmares like that was when her mother had died. She dreamt that the shooters had snuck into the house and were trying to kill her father, while she was powerless to stop it. The last night, she had dreamt that it was an entire army after her new friends. Again, she had been helpless, standing on the edge of a grassy hill, watching two armies advance on each other…until she had awakened sobbing to the roar of a fierce lion with a golden mane and terrifying eyes. Somehow, that hadn't been her reason for fright. She had felt…alone…as if she needed to find something unreachable to make her whole again.

"Lucy!" she whispered, going yet deeper into the wardrobe. Unexpectedly, she hit, not wood, but something prickly and cold. Next, she heard her feet crunching on something beneath her…surely not more mothballs! "Lucy!" Her voice reached empty air. She could see her breath in the…light!

Suddenly, Kate emerged into what appeared to be a snow-covered forest. The girl looked back for a split second to make sure that the wardrobe exit was still there before following little footprints which could have only belonged to her partner-in-crime. A moment later, she reached a lamppost shining brightly in the somewhat faded daylight. Though the curious adventurer was about to continue following the redirected human footprints and what appeared to be the hoof prints of some sort of animal, a flutter in the trees caught her attention. There was something almost familiar about the place, but she couldn't place it. The hole seemed to be a little less empty.

"Hello?" she asked the air. Her only answer was another distant flutter. Puzzled and figuring that it was only somehow a dream, Kate abandoned her chase of Lucy and followed the noise for a good hundred feet or so; she tracked the sound until a screech sounded almost right next to her.

About ten feet up in a tree was a falcon apparently caught on the branch by a string or perhaps net of sorts. Though wishful thinking had never gotten the girl anywhere anyway and since it was, after all, only a dream, Kathryn said out loud to the struggling, panting creature,

"I wish I could get you, birdie, but I can't climb up there and the tree won't just bend down for me to help you."

Rather, wishful thinking had never gotten her anywhere until that moment. Just as she finished speaking, the bare, twenty-foot cherry tree literally bent down, bringing the falcon just below Kate's eye level. The child was so shocked by a lifeless tree just bowing down at her slightest wish that it took her a little while to finally focus on the now-silent bird-of-prey staring her dead in the face. A peculiar metallic string had somehow become entwined around its right ankle, secured by a small hook buried in the scaly flesh, while the opposite end was wrapped several times around the inch-thick branch, being also secured by a dainty hook in the bark.

Fear fingered her throat, suddenly, as an uncharacteristic doubt appeared. What if the bird attacked after she freed it? Nonsense! It would be too interested in being free to bother with the harmless little girl.

Comforted by the thought, Kate reached up to the string on the animal's foot, being careful to avoid possible pecking, and slowly untangled the twine. The grayish-brown bird just stared at its rescuer with piercing, intelligent eyes, even after its foot was free. All of a sudden, the falcon flew up with a screech, nearly hitting Kate with its wings and causing her to cover her eyes.

When the little wind died down, the visitor carefully lowered her arms. Standing in the snow in front of her, instead of an injured bird, was a young woman about Peter's height in her early twenties with dusty-brown, mid-back-length, straight hair which winged out on the front, orangey-brown, bird-like eyes, pencil-thin, angled, dark eyebrows, a petite, but aquiline, nose, somewhat flat, pale lips, a sun-kissed complexion, and a lovely, womanly figure with a generously rounded bosom. Her clothing consisted merely of an ankle-length, plain deep gray dress with a divided skirt for riding, tight, long sleeves, a well-fitting bodice, and modest U-neck, accompanied by small gray boots. Despite the hawk-like features, she managed to look quite pretty. Additionally, there were little cuts on her right ankle.

With dance-like movements, the woman moved back to the branch, untangled the hooked line, and glided back towards the little girl. Since she was too stunned to shrink away, Kate allowed her to wrap the strange chain twice around her thin neck and somehow secure it in the back. It was actually quite exquisite when not used for violent purposes. The looped silver string was wrapped just so that its first circle reached the receiver's chest, while the other swooped several inches below her would-be bosom. She later discovered that the lengths could be switched and adjusted.

Without a word and in a blink of an eye, the bird-woman was back in her avian form and flying away. Entranced, Kathryn followed, her chilled feet lightly crunching in the snow. For some reason, the falcon managed to not fly too far ahead for her to follow. With her wits slightly still numbed by her recent loss, the human thoughtlessly wandered after her new companion deeper into the forest.

Perhaps an hour had gone by; it was nearly dark, but she still followed the bird. Suddenly, they emerged from the trees and came upon a cliff with a view of a land so vast and beautiful that it humbled the Professor's little country home. Light barely teased a distant mountain beside the massive river.

"When in doubt, follow the river," a low, slightly chesty, but feminine voice said. When Kate turned she just caught a flash of glowing, birdlike eyes…and realized that she was in the dark, in a strange place, and alone.

* * *

"Go…come on, go!" the Faun cried, sending Lucy running into the trees, back through the coats, back through the wardrobe, and through the door. In the back of her mind, she heard her big brother counting,

"…ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one-hundred…ready or not, here I come!" but she knew that it had been hours.

"I'm back, I'm back!" she called loudly, rushing out into the hallway. "It's all right."

"Shh, he's coming!" Edmund hissed from his old hiding place behind the curtain, peeking out.

"You know," Peter stated, trotting up to them, "I'm not sure if you two have quite gotten the idea of this game." Ed sourly shoved himself out of the window.

"But, weren't you wondering where I was?" the girl queried, confused.

"That's the point!" her dark-haired brother snipped. "That's why he was seeking you!"

"Does this mean we win?" Susan asked, approaching with Daisy.

Poor Lucy then proceeded to show them the closet where her adventure had taken place and told them about the wonderful Faun and how Kate had been right behind her.

* * *

Daisy peeked in where Susan was knocking on the back of the wardrobe.

"The only wood in here is the back of the wardrobe," the perfectionist stated, coming out and giving the youngest girl a pointed look, along with everyone else.

"One game at a time, Lu," Peter pointed out. "We don't all have your imagination."

"But, I wasn't imaging!" the subject exclaimed.

"That's enough," Susan disciplined.

"What about Kate?"

"What about her?" Margaret questioned with pursed lips, not pleased with the young one's persistence. "Kate's been in bed all morning after that nightmare last night."

"But…" She seemed at a loss for words.

"Well, I believe you." Edmund's statement shocked all of them.

"You do?"

"Yeah, didn't I tell you about the football field I found in the bathroom closet?"

Daisy couldn't help but snigger a little under her breath. Though the timing was terrible, Ed actually had remarkable wit. Of course, it received repercussions from Peter.

"Why don't you just stop it? You always have to make everything worse. Grow up!"

"Shut up! You think you're dad, but you're not!"

With that line, the girl felt a slight kindred spirit in the boy. The separation caused by the War would perhaps make him at least a little sympathetic. Peter seemed too much of a closed book for her preference. So, when Ed stormed out with a huff, she decided to follow and see where he went.

* * *

"Well, that was nicely handled," Susan sneered before slinking out as well and leaving Peter and Lucy alone.

"It was really there," she defended weakly.

"Susan's right. That's enough," Peter replied, slowly departing. After looking longingly back at the wardrobe one more time, Lucy reluctantly followed after closing the wardrobe door.

* * *

Dazed, Kathryn tripped out of the wardrobe door. The relief she had experienced when coming upon the familiar lamppost was indescribable! Stumbling through the dark, the already somewhat timid girl had been simply petrified. Afraid that she would be in trouble for disappearing, she took a moment to listen, only hearing the pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof and windows, prior to going to retrieve her most likely cold tea. Her plan was to just slip back into her bedroom and pretend that she had never left, as hard as that would be. She looked down the hall to make sure the coast was clear, tucking her new necklace into her shirt.

Oddly enough, her tea was still quite warm.

* * *

As the group of children left the dining room from supper, Lucy followed Kate as the other girl headed straight for her room, sneezing before going in, Lucy on her heels. Since Daisy and Susan were spending some time together, the younger two were momentarily alone. Just inside the bedroom door, just as she had expected, was a pair of moist shoes. Kathryn's eyes followed hers to the pair. When they made eye contact, the Pevensie's face was alight with excitement.

"You did go there!"

"Where?" Kate defaulted.

"Narnia!"

The older lass bit her bottom lip and glanced back at the shoes.

"So, it wasn't a dream and I didn't just sleepwalk into a freezing puddle in the middle of summer?"

Lucy vigorously shook her head.

"What did you see?"

"There was a falcon caught on a string. I followed it…and freed it," she answered vaguely, shifting uncomfortably. "What about you?"

The shorter one bounced up on the bed.

"There was Faun named Mr. Tumnus. It looked like the top half was a human with the bottom half being a goat. He was just absolutely wonderful. We had tea and toast in his cave…but it wasn't the dreary sort of cave. It was warm and home-like. And he told me about the White Witch who makes it always winter and never Christmas. He said she…"

And so the tale was finally told to someone who believed in Narnia and the girls quickly became fast friends, agreeing not to talk any more about the magical place until they could prove it existed. Oddly enough, Kate asked a few questions about Peter, but, of course, Lucy answered honestly, describing his tough and sometimes annoying pushiness, not leaving out his wonderful protectiveness and kindness. They also agreed not to try returning to Narnia until they could go together. Lucy, however, had other plans, wanting desperately to make sure that Mr. Tumnus was all right.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	4. Moments of Truth

Thanks Noel Ardnek, DragonRider2000, and LOTRRanger for your reviews!

Also, thank you to my dear, sweet friend (the falcon) for allowing me to make a character for her. Love ya!

Moments of Truth

A few days passed without incident. The weather was warm and fine and the children enjoyed it with little hikes, horseback rides, and cricket. On the next rainy day, they were back to playing hide-and-seek, this time with Susan being 'it'. Edmund and Margaret, who had developed a sort of squabbling friendship, decided to find hiding places together. As annoying as the boy could be, Daisy was more often amused than angered by her companion's antics. Ed seemed to mostly enjoy her company (at least, when she didn't join the others in chastising him for teasing Lucy) and had, for some reason, taken to calling her 'Margie' instead of 'Daisy'.

Obviously being taken by one of his fits of cruelty, Ed started following Lucy as she began heading for the room with the wardrobe. Daisy went along, at least to keep the mischievous male from going too far. They reached the room just in time to see the little girl disappear into the closet. Before reaching the doorway, the older girl made an excuse of not wanting to have so many people in one spot and jogged to another room down the hall. She realized that this was a tease in which she wanted no part.

* * *

Kate trotted down yet another hall looking for a decent hiding place; considering the enormous size of the house, it amazed her that she couldn't find just the spot she wanted. Finally, however, the girl came upon the adjacent room with the suit of armor where there was a wide dresser apparently used for shoes, robes, and hats. The second she slipped through the sliding oak door, though, she encountered another body.

"Sorry," Kate said, blushing a little after bumping right into Peter, who had already claimed a spot at the end. Her eyes widened a little as Susan's counting reached ninety-five.

"It's all right," the young man stated, smiling at her predicament. "You can hide here." Still pink around the ears, Kate slunk into the opposite corner, sliding the door shut once in place. She hated being shy around new people, but she couldn't help it. "At least Lucy hasn't brought up her magical fantasy world lately."

Kathryn was very thankful for the dark closet at that moment as her cheeks suddenly went flaming red.

* * *

The Queen was quite inquisitive, asking many questions of Ed about his family and world as he continued shoveling more Turkish Delight down his throat. The great lady was taller than any woman he had ever seen with red lips, a somewhat bold nose, hunting steel eyes, stiff light brownish hair, and an incredibly white complexion. For some odd reason, though he took no specific notice, her musical voice kept coming back to his siblings.

"You are sure there are just four of you? Two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve, neither more nor less?"

"Yes, I told you that before," the boy grumbled for the third time, completely leaving out the 'Your Majesty' part of the statement. Then, it dawned on him, but he barely took his eyes from the silver container. "…of course, there's also the Bentens, but we just met them, so…"

"The who?" the Queen interrupted, sounding almost dismayed by his mentioning of more children.

"Oh, they're two girls visiting the Professor. The taller one is actually quite nice, but the other one shies away if you even look at her lately."

The woman seemed to ignore the last part of his statement, quietly mumbling about prophecies and Lions and such rot. It wasn't until Edmund was halfway through the delicious canister that she refocused on him with a smile like thawing ice.

"Son of Adam, I should so much like to see your brother, your two sisters, and these new friends of yours. Will you bring them to see me?"

While Ed had been quite nervous when he had first climbed onto the little sled, he was reaching the level of his normal self at this point.

"Why? They're nothing special."

"I have no children of my own and you are such a good little boy...where I could see, one day, you becoming prince of Narnia…maybe even king."

"Really?"

"Of course, you'd have to bring your family."

"Oh…" That significantly lowered Edmund's spirits. "Peter will be king too?"

"No! But a king needs servants."

The thought was quite tempting.

"I…I guess I could bring 'em."

She leaned in before going on.

"Tell me if you can see two little hills rising above the trees."

He strained to peek through the forest.

"I think I can."

"Well, my house is between those two hills. You'd love it there, Edmund. It has whole rooms simply stuffed with Turkish Delight."

The named sweet was long gone and Edmund was glaring at the bottom of the container.

"Please, please, please couldn't I have just one piece of Turkish Delight to eat on the way home?"

"No," the Queen replied in a half laughing, half growlish tone. "You must wait till next time."

With that, she coaxed him with her hand from the sledge, signaled to her squatty dwarf, and the crystal carriage disappeared. Suddenly, the future prince was feeling rather sick and overstuffed, but the Turkish Delight still called him.

"Edmund?" a voice questioned. Ed turned to face his grinning little sister, who promptly tackled him with a hug. "Oh, Edmund! So you've got in too! Isn't it wonderful? And now…"

"All right, I see you were right and it is a magic wardrobe after all," the older child droned, feeling only partially remorseful, though quite annoyed for having to apologize the tenth time in a week to the little imp. "I'll say I'm sorry if you like, but where on earth have you been all this time? I've been looking for you everywhere."

"If I'd known you had got in I'd have waited for you," she chirped, backing away from the embrace to smile up at him. "I've been having lunch with dear Mr. Tumnus, the Faun, and he's very well and the White Witch has done nothing to him for letting me go, so he thinks she can't have found out and perhaps everything is going to be all right after all."

Edmund's eyebrows furrowed when she took a big breath after the long sentence.

"The White Witch?"

"She calls herself the Queen of Narnia, but she really isn't. All the Fauns and Dryads and Naiads and Dwarfs and Animals, at least the good ones, simply hate her. And she can turn people into stone and do all kinds of horrible things. And she has made a magic so that it is always winter in Narnia…always winter, but it never gets to Christmas. And she drives about on a sledge, drawn by reindeer, with her wand in her hand and a crown on her head." Throughout that description, Ed had began feeling even sicker than before. Whether it was a guilty conscience or simply having eaten too much, he didn't know. "Edmund, are you all right? You look awful!"

"Well, what do you expect?" he deadpanned. "It's freezing! How do we get out of here?"

"Come on…this way."

* * *

"Peter! Susan!" the girl cried when they finally encountered the rest of their group in the long room with a coat closet and a coat of armor. "It's all true! Edmund has seen it too. There is a country you can get to through the wardrobe. Edmund and I both got in. We met one another in there, in the wood. Go on, Edmund; tell them all about it."

"What's all this about, Ed?" Peter questioned.

As strange and all-too-familiar look came across the younger brother's face, he replied,

"I…I was just playing along. You know what little children are like these days. They just don't know when to stop pretending." Seemingly satisfied with the statement, Ed smugly leaned against the closet.

Close to tears at the betrayal, Lucy looked around at the varying emotions before her eyes landed on Kathryn.

"But Kate was there the last time! She found a trapped bird and found a cliff and a river…"

Though she suddenly became the center of attention, Kathryn seemed to be in another world, staring at the far wall.

"Kate?" her cousin questioned interrogatively.

Without a word, the girl rushed out of the room. Seeing the doubt in the remaining faces, Lucy momentarily followed, sobbing.

* * *

Hearing the pattering of feet racing by his study door, Kirke rose from his stool and peeked out. Catching the last shadow of a figure running up the stairs, he stepped out, trying to puzzle out the situation; however, something promptly collided with his waist. Looking down, he discovered the teary-eyed youngest of the Pevensie children staring up at him prior to burying her face in his robe.

Just as the two eldest siblings came upon them, a gasp came from the stairway belonging to Mrs. Macready, broomstick in hand, who cried,

"You children are one shenanigan shy of sleepin' in the stable. Professor, I told them you were not to be disturbed!"

"Oh, it's all right Mrs. Macready. I'm sure there's a logical explanation, but I think this one needs some hot chocolate."

"Yes, Professor. Come on, dear."

After ushering the little one after his housekeeper, the Professor turned to the two remaining children.

* * *

Margaret curled her lip as Ed continued nursing his barely-touched shoulder in the depths of the closet, to where he had been pushed by Peter.

"How can you be so cruel?" she asked disbelievingly.

"What, you believe her?"

"Of course not, but a little fantasy couldn't hurt anyone. She's tired of this war and is trying to find an escape. I'm almost jealous!"

He pouted slightly.

"Sorry…"

She sat down beside him on the floor, crossing her legs.

"Don't worry about it…but it does get a little annoying."

* * *

Kirke tapped the tobacco into his pipe and retrieved a light as he sat down at his desk with the two children standing on the other side.

"You seem to have upset the delicate internal balance of my housekeeper," he congenially noted.

"We are very sorry, sir. It won't happen again," the boy said half-heartedly, moving to leave and grabbing the wrist of his sister, who pulled away, saying,

"It's our sister, sir, Lucy."

"The weeping girl?" the old man queried.

"Yes, sir. She's upset."

"Hence the weeping."

"We can handle it!" Peter persisted, trying once again to depart.

"Oh, I can see that," he sarcastically muttered, finally lighting the pipe.

"She thinks she's found a magical land," the girl went on. Kirke chuckled. "…in the upstairs wardrobe." The chuckling stopped and the professor leaned forward enthusiastically.

"What did you say?"

It was Peter who replied to that.

"The wardrobe upstairs; Lucy thinks she's found a forest inside."

When they moved to sit on the couch, Kirke eagerly sat in a chair across from them.

"What was it like?"

"Like talking to a lunatic!" Susan exclaimed.

"No, not her…the forest!"

"You…you're not saying you believe her?" Peter protested, eyes bulging.

"Well, don't you?"

The other teenager took her turn.

"Well, logically, it couldn't possibly be there!"

Their 'logic' shocked him.

"What do they teach at these schools?"

Again, the boy spoke.

"Edmund said they were only pretending."

"And he's the more truthful one, is he?"

"No…this would be the first time."

"Well then, if your sister isn't lying and isn't mad, then, logically, we must assume that she is telling the truth. She's your sister, isn't she? You're a family! It's high time you start acting like one!" After a moment, he leaned back in his seat. "Now, I saw a sad face pass me going upstairs just before I collided with the weeping girl. Perhaps you know where she is."

They both looked bewildered.

* * *

The dark-haired little girl whipped around upon hearing another movement in the bushes.

"Hello?" Her voice wavered from fright. "He…hello?"

Even though the forest was the scariest thing Kate had ever seen, there was something about it that was almost…familiar. It almost felt as if she…belonged there.

The rustling grew louder…and louder.

"Hello, Kathryn."

* * *

"Kate!" Lucy cried smiling up from her mug of hot chocolate on the kitchen table. "Kathryn, are you quite all right?"

"Child, you look as if you've seen a ghost!" Mrs. Macready said, looking up from a wonderful-smelling pot.

"Kate?"

Without a word, the stunned-looking girl marched out.

"Kate?"

Several minutes later, Peter, Edmund, and Margaret came walking into the room.

"Have you seen Kate?" the older Benten queried, obviously a little concerned.

"She just went marching toward the back door. I hope she wasn't fool enough to actually go outside. She'll catch a cold in this rain," the housekeeper growled pointedly.

Lucy watched the three other kids turn towards one another.

"You have to go after her," Peter whispered to Daisy, who shook her head emphatically, replying,

"No, absolutely not."

"Why not? You're her cousin!"

She licked her lips, still shaking her head.

"I can't do anything for her anymore. I discovered that last night. She…too much has happened. Susan should go."

"But," Lucy interjected, rising from the table, "Susan's not here right now."

Margaret just kept shaking her head and all eyes, as always, turned to Peter, who shrugged his shoulders, saying,

"All right, I'll go get her."

* * *

Finding refuge in the barn from the downpour, Peter shook himself free of some excess moisture, promptly discovering the girl outside of the farthest spacious stall petting her precious horse. As usual, something was wrong. Susan had just pointed out the night before that he and Kate were rather similar in that way.

"You and Lucy have the house quite in an uproar," he stated.

The girl breathed a laugh, not looking at him.

"I never liked crying in front of people…too much attention," she mused quietly. "Daisy always liked attention…I hide…I always have."

He decided to play along.

"Why?"

"She knows how to defend herself. In school, on the street, at home…she always could. Not me. I'm just…Thai."

"What does that mean?"

With her head against the mare's nose, its breath teasing her bangs, Kathryn looked at him with a ghost of a smile.

"That's what they all call me…the kids, the teachers, everyone. My great-grandmother on my mother's side was from Thailand. Ever since the War started full tilt, people called me that just as much as my real name…just because I'm…different."

Peter didn't quite know what to say to that. Yes, she was different in many ways and now he knew why the girl almost looked Asian, but it didn't even come close to being worthy of such torment.

"Why?"

She glanced aside thoughtfully.

"I don't know why they do it…maybe out of frustration."

"That's not what I meant. Why did you come out here?"

"I'm a runner!" she cried, unlocking the stall door. "I don't have the courage like everyone else to stand up for myself. Now you see."

"Kate…" She ignored him, hopped into the saddle he hadn't seen before, and trotted away towards the exit. "Not everyone is that strong!" Kathryn still ignored him, pulling a raincoat around herself as she disappeared. "I'm not that strong."

* * *

"What happened? Where is she?" Susan asked, getting up from the couch beside Margaret in the Pevensie girls' room.

Peter smoothed back his wet hair.

"She just needs some time."

He avoided Daisy's eyes. She was glaring daggers at him.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	5. Believe

Thanks Noel Ardnek and zoe0heriot for your reviews!

Also, I often _italicize_ dreams. I try to make it clear as to whether it's a flashback or a dream, but please ask if you're confused. :)

Louis Armstrong's "La Vie en Rose" goes with scenes 1-2 and Isabel Bayrakdarian's "Andouni" is for scene 6 after the flashback…Please let me know if you don't like me matching songs up with some of my scenes! I just see it as sort of a 'soundtrack' to bring out moods, feelings, and such. :) Thanks!

Believe

Another three days passed without incident. After Lucy's breakdown and Kate's lonely jaunt, the two youngest girls seemed quite fine, especially since the subject of the magical wood and fantastic creatures was avoided like the plague. As for the others, they had all put on figurative masks of bliss in the warms, sunny days.

"And please remember you're to keep out of the way whenever I'm taking a party over the house," Macready had droned on their first day there. The Professor's mansion, being quite the historical stop, was often visited by tourists, who were consequently given the grand tour by the nonsocial housekeeper. Normally, the children were quite apt at escaping the area whenever the sightseers came through; however, this particular morning was fated to be different.

The four girls were walking down the hall towards the room where Peter and Edmund were studying the suit of armor they had discovered in the room where the former had hidden during the last hide-and-seek game. The ladies'…well, the older ladies' plot was to drag the brothers outside for a game of cricket; they wouldn't be able to resist, being boys. Unfortunately, all plans were swept away as the haunting voice of the aged woman giving a tour came to their ears.

"Hurry!" Susan cried, leading the charge into the original target room, to the lads' surprise. "Look out! Here comes the Macready and a whole gang with her."

This time with Margaret leading, the group ran towards the back stairs, but, somehow, the housekeeper seemed to be bringing the tourists up the back way rather than the front. Wherever they ran, the sounds followed them until they finally scurried into the wardrobe room. Daisy charged right into the closet. Edmund reached the door soon after, but turned when everyone else paused.

"Come on!" he called.

Susan scoffed.

"You have got to be joking."

"Go!" Peter prodded, taking up the rear of the rushed procession.

Into the fur coats they dove, crowding into the elaborate wooden box.

"Stop pushing!" the eldest shouted when Edmund started panicking in the small space.

"Move!" Susan insisted, feeling herself shoved backwards until she and Peter fell with a silent 'oomph'.

* * *

"Impossible!" the older sister exclaimed.

Lucy backed away from the group into the snow, grinning at the shock on their faces…except for Kate's, of course, who appeared, as was usual whenever the attention would potentially land even partially on her, to want to sink into the ground.

"Don't worry," the little girl chuckled, "it's probably just your imagination."

Peter's brow furrowed as he spoke.

"I don't suppose saying we're sorry would quite cover it?"

"No, it wouldn't, but this might!" she said, suddenly nailing the young man in the face with a snow ball she had made when all the others had been sprawled.

With a laugh, Peter returned the favor, initiating a short snowball fight, which abruptly ended when Ed was finally hit.

"Ow!" he whined, rubbing his barely-touched arm.

All eyes fell upon the younger boy in that moment.

"You little liar!" Peter accused.

"You didn't believe her, either!"

"Apologize to Lucy." Ed just stared at the younger sibling. "Say you're sorry!" the eldest insisted threateningly.

"All right! I'm sorry."

It was obvious that Edmund wasn't quite sincere, but Lucy decided to smooth the tension, saying,

"That's all right. Some little children just don't know when to stop pretending."

"Very funny," he muttered.

"Maybe we should go back," Susan offered.

"Can't we at least take a look around?"

"I think," Peter interjected, being the oldest, "…Lucy should decide."

"I want you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!" the little girl declared.

"Well, Mr. Tumnus it is."

With a grin, he dove back into the wardrobe. Susan, always being the practical one, piped up.

"We can't just walk around in these clothes!"

Truly, none of them were wearing decent clothing for walking around in the freezing snow. Peter was wearing a light, grayish-blue long-sleeved shirt with dark grey braces, black trousers, and black leather shoes; Edmund sported a long-sleeved, brown knit polo with a white cotton shirt underneath, grey wool flannel shorts, dark grey knee socks, and brown leather shoes; Susan was present in a white cotton button-up blouse under a V-neck cardigan, a red, green, cream, and brown plaid, knee-length wool skirt, cream-colored, folded down socks, and caramel brown leather, lace-up shoes; Lucy had an off-white, knee-length, short-sleeved dress with little pink and lavender flowers on it, over which was an olive-colored V-neck, buttoned cardigan, along with grayish-white stockings and brown leather shoes; Kathryn wore a gray, short-sleeved, knee-length dress with buttons down the entire front, a deep brown V-neck cardigan, black stockings, and brown leather shoes; and Margaret…where was she?

"We can use these coats," Peter stated, breaking through Lucy's thoughts as he emerged with several of the furs.

"Peter, they don't belong to us," Susan objected.

"Well, I don't think the professor will mind…and, if you think about it…logically…we are not even taking them out of the wardrobe."

"But, that's a girl's coat!" Ed cried disgustedly.

"I know."

"I think we owe Kate an apology too," Susan offered, though Peter cut in,

"Wait! Where's Daisy?"

Lucy volunteered her assumption.

"Maybe Mr. Tumnus found her. I told him I might come back to visit. Maybe he was passing by and heard her come through. Time is funny that way here."

"Kate, what do you think? Kate?"

* * *

After getting an ankle-length black fur coat from Peter, Kathryn had slipped away from the group intent on finding her sister…well, that and she quite wanted to find the falcon and make sure it was all right.

All of a sudden, she heard bells in the distance, going farther and farther away.

"Daisy!" she half screamed. "Dai…"

"Shh, quiet!" a new voice begged, cutting her short. "You don't want to bring the bloody White Witch down on us, do ya?"

"Who's the…?" She was about to ask who the White Witch was (a silly thing since she already knew, but sight of the speaker stole the words from her.

* * *

"Lucy!" Peter cried as the youngest raced with a gasp towards the open door at the cave entrance, quickly tailed by her siblings.

Edmund dragged behind a bit, looking around; part of him was once again looked for the two hills which pointed to the Queen's house. The other part searched for Margie. Despite Edmund's natural ability to be selfish and cruel, he still didn't like it when people who had become his friends, such as Margaret, were possibly in tremendous danger. He didn't trust the forest.

Coming upon his companions, the boy discovered the disaster that was the Faun's former home.

"Who would do something like this?" the little girl brokenly asked as Peter yanked a sheet of paper from a nail on the wall, which he proceeded to read.

"The former occupant of these premises, the Faun Tumnus, is under arrest and awaiting his trial on a charge of High Treason against her imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel, Empress of the Lone Islands, also to comforting her said Majesty's enemies, harboring spies, and fraternizing with Humans. Signed Maugrim, captain of the Secret Police. Long live the Queen."

"Now we should really go," Susan, always being practical, suggested.

"But, we have to help him!" Lucy burst out.

"It's out of our hands now, Lu," the eldest stated regretfully.

"You don't get it, do you? I'm the Human! He helped me!"

"Maybe we should call the police."

"These are the police!" Susan argued, snatching the notice.

"Besides, he's a criminal!" Ed pointed out, feeling ever so slightly guilty about the whole situation…since he had sort of been responsible for telling the Queen about the Faun.

"Don't worry, Lucy," Peter said, "we'll think of something."

A strange noise caught everyone's attention. Susan voiced the general confusion.

"Did that bird just…'psst' us?"

The group moved back outside, following the robin as it landed on a tree across the clearing. Curious and with no better guide, they followed, with the bird leading them by flitting from one tree to another deeper and deeper into the forest. With the girls far enough ahead to be out of hearing distance, Edmund approached his brother, whispering,

"If you're not still too high and mighty to talk to me, I've something to say which you'd better listen to."

"What is it?" was the terse reply.

"Hush! Not so loud; there's no good frightening the girls, but have you realized what we're doing?"

"What?" Peter questioned, still irritably, though he lowered his voice.

"We're following a guide we know nothing about. How do we know which side that bird is on? Why shouldn't it be leading us into a trap?"

"That's a nasty idea. Still…a robin, you know. They're good birds in all the stories I've ever read. I'm sure a robin wouldn't be on the wrong side."

"If it comes to that, which is the right side? How do we know that the Fauns are in the right and the Queen (yes, I know we've been told she's a witch) is in the wrong? We don't really know anything about either."

"The Faun saved Lucy."

Stubborn.

"He said he did, but how do we know? And there's another thing too: has anyone the least idea of the way home from here?"

"I hadn't thought of that," Peter worried, biting his lip.

"And no chance of dinner, either." Though Ed wasn't quite done planting the seeds of doubt in his brother's mind, he was interrupted by the girls, who were anxiously pointing out the robin's disappearance. "Now what are we to do? What did I tell you?"

Suddenly, the bushes began rustling loudly, frightening the whole group until the only thing that appeared was an innocent-looking beaver. Peter promptly knelt down and clicked his tongue, trying to coax the animal over.

"Here, boy. Come here…"

The creature, sitting up, blinked at the offered hand before speaking!

"Well, I ain't gonna smell it, if that's what you want!"

"It's a talking beaver!" Ed exclaimed, but he went ignored as Kathryn emerged from the trees, looking a little cold, but strangely content.

"Kate!" Lucy cried, racing straight into the older girl's embrace.

"Lucy Pevensie?" the Beaver inquired.

"Yes?"

With that, it handed her a white handkerchief.

"This is the handkerchief I gave to Mr…."

"Tumnus," it interrupted. "He gave it to me just before they took him."

"Is he all right?"

The animal looked up warily.

"Further in."

"Peter," Susan hissed, taking the boys aside, making it impossible to hear what the other girls were whispering to each other, "we don't know what you are doing."

"She's right," Ed vouched; "how do we know we can trust this beaver?"

"He says he knows the faun," the fifteen-year-old stated.

"He's a beaver; he shouldn't be saying anything!" the girl objected.

They were interrupted by their new acquaintance.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes," replied Peter. "We were just talking."

"That's better left for safer corners."

Lucy answered their befuddlement.

"He means the trees."

* * *

Peter scowled worriedly at Kathryn, who was gazing blankly at the underbrush.

"Where were you?" he growled. The gaze which met his didn't quite seem the same…perhaps because she wasn't shying away at first glance. Instead, a smile brushed her lips, like she was an adult contemplating a subject a child could not yet comprehend.

"I went looking for Daisy. Mr. Beaver found me when I failed and saved me from a…predicament."

"So…" He clicked his tongue, still somewhat humbled upon seeing the existence of Narnia. "I'm assuming the story of you finding the falcon, the cliff, and the river was true." She just hummed her admission. "Have you seen it since…the bird, I mean?" This time, he received the opposite response before she actually spoke.

"I've seen three different people here, including Mr. Beaver. They were all quite different."

"What else did you run into?"

Again, she got that strange look on her face.

"It was like nothing I've ever seen…you'll see soon enough."

"What's with all the secrecy?"

"I want to see your faces." Oddly, a teasing smile graced her features as the child practically skipped ahead to the talking animal. Peter followed himself, determined to get at least some answers.

"What happened to the other girl who was with us?"

The Beaver looked up at him uncertainly. For a moment, the only sound was the crunching of their footsteps in the snow until it opened its mouth.

"The other Daughter of Eve was taken by the White Witch. Katie here had the mind to give chase before I talked her out o' it."

Peter looked up in shock, catching a light blush from the girl. Little Kathryn giving chase to an evil, power-mongering witch? Kathryn, who could barely say a word without blushing or running away? She had certainly changed in the past hour if that tale was true; either that, or there were many more dimensions to the strange girl than initially predicted.

* * *

_Daisy raced through the snow in a panic. It wasn't that she was afraid of being alone, without a coat, in the snow, in a strange place, but when none of her friends had showed up after a decent ten minutes, she had taken off, imagining that perhaps they had somehow managed to get ahead of her…fat chance. Her blue and gray wool checkered, shin-length skirt and blue sweater clung to her from numerous collisions with the soft snow, which melted and chilled practically the instant it came in contact with her clothes. As far as memory could tell, she had never looked this bad in her lifetime, between her cherry-red nose and tangled, wet hair._

_Hearing the jingling of bells, the girl whipped around in hopes for a rescue. What she met was a near-death encounter with a sleigh, which she dove into the snow to avoid. When the craft came to a halt, Daisy looked in awe at the rider, a tall, stonily beautiful woman with a long, thin wand. Though she studied the miserable child as if she were a piece of meat, her voice was cheerful and welcoming as it encouraged the girl to join her._

"_I suspect that you are one of Edmund's sisters. Welcome to Narnia." Contrasting the glares of the apparent dwarf driver, the lady gently took Daisy's hand, guiding her onto the sled. _

"_Actually, I'm just his friend. My name is Margaret Benten."_

_The warm smile iced over._

"_Benten. He told me of you. I am Jadis, Queen of this land. I'm sure my Prince will eventually need a consort. You are welcome in my house." Daisy coughed at the thought, but wasn't given a chance to respond. "Child, you look so cold. Come to my house and warm yourself."_

"_I…actually, I should find my friends…"_

"_Nonsense," the Queen snapped, recovering with another smile. "Surely your friends will come visit me. We can meet them when they arrive. Until they do, you can warm yourself before a roaring fire and enjoy a nice hot bath."_

Margaret cleared her throat as the Queen led her past a fur-covered throne and into the slightly warmer chamber beyond.

"Those, um…statues…I don't suppose you bought them at the local market, did you?"

The warm façade gone, the Queen's chuckle sent chills down her spine.

"They were traitors and criminals…creatures who I could not risk leaving alive in my domain…just as with you and your companions." With a snap of the head, Jadis nearly caused even her dwarf to jump slightly. Somehow, Daisy had the feeling that the Queen was a little tenser than usual. "Show our guest to her quarters."

"No roaring fire and hot bath, I suppose?" the girl queried with oozing sarcasm prior to being escorted at dagger-point deeper into the castle.

Since the only knowledge she possessed of the strange place came from Lucy's excited banter, Margaret felt quite in the dark concerning the Queen's attitude and the fantastic creatures. By the time she and her guide apparently reached their destination, the girl had long lost the feeling in her hands due to the cold. Coerced into sitting on the chilly stone against a wall in the dark room which was seemingly part of a dungeon, she again had no choice in the matter while the dwarf attached shackles to her ankles and departed…she of course took every opportunity to glare.

Unfortunately, there wasn't really anything she could do to get away. Yes, she could kick the pipsqueak in the head, steal his keys, unlock the shackles, and slip out. But where would she go? And how would she escape the castle? Where would she go once out? She was in a foreign place surrounded by ice and prowling, talking wolves that would die for her captor in an instant. It wasn't exactly the ideal situation for a clean getaway. Still, studying the shackles and gate couldn't hurt…

"You can't get out. There's no escape."

"Well," she replied, at first not comprehending that there was a new voice, "what do I have that's better to do?"

"You could keep me company. It gets quite lonely down here."

Just then, Margaret caught sight of the other speaker in the dim light. The peculiar face peering through the hole between the cells could only be properly described as pitiful. The part of him she saw was perfectly human…except for the two little horns on his head which stuck through the curly brown hair.

"Why are you down here?" she questioned, crawling closer to him.

"…for doing the right thing," he muttered in response, his long, definitely not human ears drooping. "I thought everything would be all right, but someone informed the Witch…so they said."

"What did you do that was so horrible?" Daisy asked further, sympathy threading her voice. Yes, she was not always the most compassionate of people and she often socialized with crowds comprising of people like Edmund, who tormented and teased innocent, sweet people like Lucy and Kate for a living…but she knew when there was a time to be understanding to all situations.

"I failed to turn in a Daughter of Eve and instead helped her return home."

"A…Daughter of Eve?"

"A human, like you."

Exhaustion and cold started overtaking the girl as her eyelids began to droop slightly while she leaned against the freezing partition.

"Lucy?"

"You know her? Is she all right?"

"I…don't know. My cousin and I were staying with her family at an old professor's house and…did you say that there was no escape?"

"The White Witch would do worse than kill you."

"Hm…" As Daisy's eyes slid shut, she reached into the cloth bag at her side. In her distraction, Jadis had failed to order a search; after all, what could a fourteen-year-old possibly do? Her fingers caressed the lifeless metal that had become her reassurance. "There's always escape. The options just don't always seem appealing until they become…necessary."

The last thing she heard was a bubbling evidence of hope from her fellow captive.

"Aslan will come."

"Who…?"

_The lithe figure of a girl walked through the shadow-encased trees. Despair and guilt formed an overwhelming blanket over her. Half of this was her fault and no encouragement or chastisement could lift the weight on her shoulders. The only people who hadn't said anything to try raising her spirits were her cousin and…Him…not even a look. Collapsing against a tree, she lost all composure and broke down with tearless sobs as her hand tightly grasped the handle of a loaded pistol. With her wavy chestnut hair draping over her flushed face, she turned the gun on herself, a shaking finger on the trigger. _

"_Forgive me."_

_SSSSS_

_The same girl was standing in the middle of a grassy, rock-infested battlefield, wearing a comfortable, but tough, stiff leather battle garb. The majority of the fighters littered the ground, filling the air with a potent smell of blood in combination with the sweat of the living. With frantic motions, she stabbed an attacking hag in the eye with an arrow before fitting it to her bow. Suddenly, the weapon was knocked out of her hand, followed by the rest of her being knocked to the ground. A terrifying sight stood over her, ready to finish the victim._

"_This could have been avoided," the Witch stated with fake regret. "You receive what you deserve."_

_Jadis lifted her wand to strike and Daisy lifted her arm in vain to ward off the inevitable…but a body collided with the enemy, delaying death…sweet death._

_SSSSS_

_There it was...a terrifying Lion. Its sorrowful, intelligent eyes stared at her before hardening and it opened its mouth to roar…_

With a gasp, Margaret sat up in an attempt to get away from the fearsome sound, quickly remembering that she was actually in an icy castle in the dungeon with a sleeping Faun for company and a stone floor for a bed. After another moment, she noticed that her hand was still clamped around the gun in her bag.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	6. Prophecy

Thanks Noel Ardnek and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!

Well, here is chapter 6! And tomorrow I'm off to the beach!

Eagles' "Hotel California" is for scenes 3-5…

Prophecy

"There it is: home sweet home," Mr. Beaver announced as a cozy-looking dam came into view.

"Oh, what a beautiful dam, Mr. Beaver!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Merely a trifle."

As they approached the dwelling, another Beaver emerged through the little doorway in the snow, speaking at first hesitantly, all her focus on the other Animal.

"Is that you, Beaver? I find out you've been out with Badger again, I'll…" Then, she caught sight of her visitors, her jaw dropping. "Oh, they're not Badgers. I never thought I would see this day!" Once again, she turned on her husband apparent. "You couldn't give me ten minutes warning? Look at this fur!"

"I would have given you a week if I thought it would help," he teased fondly.

"Well, you must be cold and hungry. Let's get you inside for some food and civilized conversation."

Though the Humans had already started feeling a little more content by the homey bantering of the little couple, by the time introductions had been completed and they were all seated at the miniature wooden table with a fire burning, being served cooked fish, they all felt quite at home…aside from the nagging worry for the Faun and their missing friend.

"Fish and sticks, dear," Mrs. Beaver explained with a motherly tone as she set an earthy plate in front of Lucy.

"Is there nothing we can do about Mr. Tumnus?" Peter questioned.

"Well…there's hope!"

She was followed by an overeager husband.

"Yeah, there's a load full of hope. Aslan is on the move."

"Who's Aslan?" Ed put forward. Mr. Beaver burst out laughing, even as Mrs. Beaver saw the confusion.

"Aslan…you silly little blighter!" He finally realized then. "You don't know, do you?"

Peter voiced an explanation.

"Well, we haven't actually been here very long."

"He's only the king of the whole wood, the true King of Narnia…and he's waiting for you!"

"Waiting for us?" puzzled the youngest girl.

"You got to be joking!" Again, he waited for a moment to see if they were making a fool out of him. "Look, Aslan's return, Tumnus' arrest, the secret police…they're all happening because of you!"

Susan piped up guiltily with that.

"You're blaming us?"

"Not blaming you, dear," the female interjected, "thanking you."

"There's a prophecy," Mr. Beaver continued:

"When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone

Sits in Cair Paravel in throne,

The evil is over and done."

"You know, that doesn't really rhyme," the older girl pointed out, glancing at Kate, who was leaning against her shoulder.

"I know, but you're missing the point!"

Seeing that her spouse was running short of patience, Mrs. Beaver took over.

"It's long been told that two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve will appear to defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia."

"And you think we're the ones?" Peter cried disbelievingly.

"Well, you'd better be," Mr. Beaver stated. "Aslan's already fitted out your army! They're camped out near the Stone Table."

"I think you've made a mistake; we're not heroes! Besides, there's more than four of us."

"Well…"

"We're from Finchley!" Susan put in.

For the first time since their arrival in the den, Kathryn spoke up, staring absentmindedly at the middle of the table.

"…And when Adam's bone answers the call,

Forever may Narnia all

Its enemies in vain enthrall.

Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,

When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,

And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again."

"Finally!" the male Animal shouted in relief. "At least one of you knows why you're here!"

"Kate!" Susan hissed worriedly, breaking the other child out of her reverie enough to see that the attention was…on her.

"Where did you hear that, dear?" Mrs. Beaver questioned kindly, but Kate already possessed the look of a deer caught in a bright light.

Peter broke the silence with,

"I think it's time we were going."

Susan instantly followed him in standing, dragging Kathryn up with her. Only Lucy remained seated…and she promptly objected.

"But, what about Mr. Tumnus?"

"Sorry, Lucy. Mr. Tumnus is out of our hands."

Suddenly, Kate came to life.

"But, Daisy's been caught by the White Witch, too!"

"Thank you for your hospitality," Susan said, running over the previous sentence.

"Ed, time to go," Peter added, looking around. "Ed? I'm going to kill him!"

Though Kate was fully back to being herself and standing on her own two feet, Susan clung to her as concern made her eyes widen.

"You may not have to," Mr. Beaver offered. "Has Edmund been to Narnia before?"

Lucy answered.

"He came to Narnia when I was here before, but I didn't know where he was."

"Then, we'd better go after him. If the White Witch got to him before…"

"But, why would Ed do something like that?" Susan argued.

"She has ways."

* * *

"Hurry up!" Peter yelled, leading the others in the race after his brother.

"Edmund!" Lucy called as they reached the top of the hill, seeing Edmund at a distance going through the gates of the castle in the middle of the frozen-over lake.

"Sh!" Mr. Beaver objected. "They'll hear ya!"

Peter ignored him and jumped to chase after the runaway, though he was promptly yanked back down.

"Get off me!" he protested. "We can't just let him go."

"Don't you get it? He's the bait! She wants all of ya in there…to kill ya!"

Susan viciously turned on her brother.

"This is all your fault! None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me in the first place!"

"So you knew this would happen?" he bit back.

"I didn't know what would happen…"

"Stop!" Lucy suddenly cried. "This fighting isn't going to help Edmund or Daisy."

Peter was speechless for a moment. He had always thought Lucy to be mature beyond her years, but her wisdom at this particular moment shocked him.

"She's right," Mr. Beaver said after a moment's silence. "Only Aslan can save them now."

"Then take us to Him," the young man ordered.

"Wait." Susan's interjection came unexpectedly. "Where's Kathryn?"

"Hasn't she been with you since we left the dam?" He rolled his eyes, beginning to tire of the younger Benten's wanderings. "Where did she run off to this time?"

"Look!" Lucy cried an alarm, pointing back to the ice field. In the distance, two figures could barely be seen disappearing into the darkness on the far side of the clearing.

"Where could she possibly be going?"

"We can't do anything for her, either. Let's go!" the Beaver urged.

* * *

"Stand still, stranger!" the Wolf growled, pinning Edmund to the ground.

"I'm a Son of Adam! I met the Queen in the woods!"

"My apologies, fortunate favorite of the Queen," it snarled a bit less harshly, beginning to lead the boy towards another room, "…or, perhaps, not so fortunate." When they came to the icy throne room, the Animal started to walk past the great chair towards the next compartment. "Wait here."

Curiosity taking over, he glided up the steps and made himself comfortable on the large, fur-covered throne. The icicled wall behind it and the large expanse of the floor in front made him feel quite high and mighty.

"You like it?"

Scared half out of his wits, Edmund pounced out of the throne and onto the top stair like a wet cat to find the Queen standing right behind the seat with a cold grin that couldn't exactly be called friendly.

"Ye…yes, Your Majesty."

"I thought you might," she sighed, lavishly taking the vacant spot. After that, there was a slight, awkward pause, during which he could almost hear the Turkish Delight calling his name. Through this illusion, the next question came across as odd. "Tell me; your new lady friends…are they blind?"

"No." His answer almost came out as a question. Why was she asking this? He had, after all, gotten them into Narnia, while he couldn't really take the credit completely.

"Your sisters…are they deaf?"

"No."

"And your brother…unintelligent?"

"Well, I think so, but mum says…"

"Then how dare you come alone!" she exploded. Sparks seemed to appear in her eyes. "Edmund, I ask so little of you."

"They just don't listen to me!" he whined back.

"You couldn't even do that?"

"I…I did bring them halfway! They're at the dam at the house of the beavers!"

The sparks died down slightly, but the smile had disappeared significantly.

"Well…I guess you're not a total loss, then."

Encouraged, the child approached a little closer.

"Is there any chance I may have some more Turkish Delight now?"

"Ginnabrick," she addressed the dwarf who had been standing nearby the whole time, "our guest is hungry."

With a sadistic smile, the munchkin drew his dagger, grabbed Ed by the arm, and shoved him away from the throne, saying,

"This way for your num-nums."

"Maugrim!" Out of nowhere, the Wolf appeared. "You know what to do."

As the Animal let out a terrible howl and was answered by at least a dozen more, Edmund was hit with clarity. Thoughts of Turkish Delight completely flew from his mind in the realization that he had just condemned his family to be torn apart by Wolves.

* * *

In terror, the young girl slipped between the trees, praying for rescue. She couldn't stop to look around, gather her bearings, and try finding her friends…there was no time…unless she wanted to be captured or eaten by her pursuers. Why did she have to be so stupid?

"_Hurry up!" Peter yelled, leading the others in the race after his brother._

"_Edmund!" Lucy called as they reached the top of the hill, seeing Edmund at a distance going through the gates of the castle in the middle of the frozen-over lake._

"_Sh!" Mr. Beaver objected. "They'll hear ya!"_

_Peter ignored him and jumped to chase after the runaway, though he was promptly yanked back down. The Beaver failed to notice the other runner, as did the others as they began squabbling among themselves._

"_Get off me!" the boy protested. "We can't just let him go."_

_As she flew across the snow towards the castle, all Kate could think of was saving her cousin from the White Witch; however, she hadn't counted on running into the monarch's canine patrol. More than halfway to the castle when a Wolf came from the shadows, the girl had no other choice but to flee into the forest, not daring to call her companions for fear of drawing more attention to both them and herself._

Most thoughts of Margaret's safety were just whispers in the back of Kathryn's mind. At least the older child was more than likely stewing in a dark room. The fate of the momentary prey, however, was not so certain.

Exhausted, she sunk into the snow behind a tall oak. The branches granted a small respite from the falling flakes. Well, she had learned her lesson: never stick your hand into a pit to lift someone out unless you know for certain that you have someone to keep you from slipping in and that there are no vipers in the pit ready to bite you.

* * *

"Edmund!" the girl cried, a bright grin appearing on her pale, shadowed face as the boy was dropped onto the floor and shackles were put on his ankles. He flinched a little when she suddenly gave him a tight hug, the smile gone by the time she pulled away. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he grumbled, cuddling his knees against his chest. Margie was simply leaning against the broken wall with her legs crossed. She seemed to have given up on trying to stay warm. "You?"

"This isn't exactly Buckingham Palace, but I'm alive." Her eyes had taken on the same haunted look he himself probably possessed. "How are the others?"

He flinched again.

"All right…for now."

"She got to you too?"

He nodded, though his eyes narrowed.

"You didn't have anything to give away. You weren't even there to know we actually came through."

"I told her…enough. I told her exactly what you all looked like. I told her everything about me and Kate. I…it was enough. I was stupid enough to walk right to her sled." Suddenly, he noticed her caressing something in her bag.

"What's that?"

"My ticket out of here. How exactly did you get yourself here?"

Ed shifted uncomfortably.

"When Lucy said that I came to Narnia…we weren't pretending. I did come and…the Queen…"

"…who I assume is actually the Witch," the girl interrupted.

"Yes," he snapped, his feeling of humiliation for his stupidity escalating yet further. "She gave me some Turkish Delight and asked me questions about all of you and told me that, if I brought everyone here, I could live here and be Prince and eventually King." Margaret was sucking on her lip in shock, a habit she must have taken up from her shy cousin. "I didn't know she wanted to kill them until just before she tossed me in here." Still, she said nothing. "Honestly, I just wanted more Turkish Delight and to be King and to get back at Peter for calling me beastly!"

"The reason Peter calls you beastly is because you are, just like me."

That stung.

"You're not beastly…not in the least."

A tortured look appeared on the teen's face.

"I guess we're both getting our comeuppance. Well…at least I know now why the Witch was babbling about her Prince needing a consort."

She smirked as Edmund practically gagged.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	7. Anxiety and Ease

Thanks Noel Ardnek and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!

Norah Jones' "Broken" goes with scenes 4-6...

Anxiety and Ease

"Hurry, Mum; they're after us!" Mr. Beaver announced to his wife as soon as the group piled back into the den.

"Right then," she replied partially to herself, beginning to bustle around the kitchen.

"What is she doing?" Susan exclaimed quietly.

"Don't worry; you'll thank me later," Mrs. Beaver chirped, instigating the eldest girl to help in packing. "It's a long journey and Beaver gets cranky when he's hungry."

"I'm cranky now!" the other creature cried, exasperated by what he saw to be an unnecessary delay.

"Do you think we should bring jam?" Susan generally queried.

Peter rolled his eyes before replying.

"Only if the Witch has toast."

Finally seeing that the packing was done, Mr. Beaver opened up a hole that went practically straight down into the ground. Once they had all slid down to where the tunnel flattened out, Mr. Beaver spoke while leading the race.

"This should lead to Aslan."

"I thought it led to your mum's!" his wife cried, panting.

Suddenly, a howl resounded behind them, producing a call of alarm from Lucy.

"They're in the tunnel!"

"You should have brought a map!"

"There was no room next to the jam!" the other Animal protested.

A few moments later, they emerged back onto the surface; Peter came up last, just in time to see Lucy trip on something and fall flat on her face. Mr. Beaver walked up to one of the stone figures in shock.

"He was my best mate!"

"What happened to them?" said Susan.

"This is what happens to the enemies of the White Witch," a new voice stated. The group turned to face a Fox suddenly standing nearby.

"Stand still there, traitor," Mr. Beaver ordered, not making the other creature hesitate in the least.

"Relax! I'm one of the good guys."

"Well, you look mighty like one of the bad guys."

"An unfortunate family resemblance," he joked, "but we can discuss family breeding later. Right now, we need to move."

"What do you suggest?" Peter questioned skeptically.

* * *

"Evening, gents! Did we lose something?" Mr. Fox queried cheerfully, using every bit of wile Aslan had given him on the circling Wolves.

"Don't patronize me," the leading hunter growled. "I know where your allegiance lies. We are looking for some humans."

He didn't break eye contact and continued with good humor.

"Humans in Narnia! Now, that's some valuable information."

With all their typical cruelty, one of the Wolves picked Mr. Fox up by his back with its jaws and gave an incredibly painful shake.

"Where are they?"

At that, the little Animal dropped his head in apparent shame.

"They…they were heading north."

"Quickly; smell them out!"

The captor promptly dropped the Fox, producing a slight, unintentional yelp, and they went charging into the woods, just as he had planned. Soon after, the Humans and Beavers came back down the tree and the female dam-builder began ministering to the quite-painful bite marks on his back.

"I hope it's clear by now that I am really on your side."

"Are you all right?" the younger Daughter of Even asked worriedly.

"Well, I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite," he replied, wiggling a little at a twinge of pain.

"Stop squirming!" Mrs. Beaver exclaimed, putting a bit of her concoction on another cut. "You're worse than Beaver on bath day."

"Worst day of the year," her mate noted with a shiver.

Fox took the opportunity to stand and excuse himself, trying not to show the significant pain he was feeling for the little one's sake.

"Well, I am afraid that is all the healing I have time for."

"You're leaving?" the older girl inquired.

"It has been a pleasure, my Queen. I have been asked by Aslan Himself to gather more troops."

"You've seen Aslan?" the male Beaver cried, followed by the Missus.

"What is He like?"

"Like everything we have ever heard," was the reply. "He'll be a good help fighting the White Witch."

"We are not planning on fighting any witch," Susan objected.

"Surely King Peter…"

The named boy interrupted.

"We just want to get out brother, Daisy, and Kate back."

"Ah, yes! Your wandering companion."

"You've seen Kathryn?" Susan interjected seriously.

"Yes, we found her and she'll find her way quite all right…" He saw more questions forming on their lips, but there wasn't time. "…Please, my King and Queens, you must go before the Wolves discover the ruse."

* * *

"You summoned me?" the girl said, purposefully and obviously leaving out "Your Majesty." Margaret was presently standing in front of the icy throne, where the Witch was sitting, looking, as usual, as if she was a piece of meat, with a single, giant Wolf standing behind her to make sure she didn't do anything…foolish…not that she could, being half frozen.

Jadis leaned forward with a ghost of a smile.

"My dear…I think we got off on the wrong foot, as it were, you and I."

"What: hauling me off, imprisoning me and my friend, and clearly meaning to kill all of us?"

The tall lady's nose wrinkled good-humoredly.

"A misunderstanding."

"Yeah, a big one, I'd say."

"Well, the fact is: I have no intention of doing you or your cousin any harm since it's clear neither of you are the foretold Kings and Queens."

"That's a great comfort…but what does that have to do with any of us?"

"Both my enemies and myself believe that your four little playmates may be these Kings and Queens. Is there reason for doubt?"

Daisy scoffed.

"Well, of course! No offense. They're great people and all…Peter and Lucy act twice their ages and Susan and Ed try…but, Peter's as mild as a lamb, Susan is more concerned about dealing with personal issues such as hair rather than a country, Edmund can't see beyond his own selfishness, and Lucy cries if you look at her wrong! I'm sorry, but they just don't strike me as the 'take up the sword and rule the world' type."

The Witch's eyes glittered.

"So, you don't believe that they will actually go along with Aslan's ploy to use them in his charade of creating peace?"

"The only reason I can see for them to do that would be because Ed and I are being held hostage." The glitter disappeared for a moment as Daisy threw her dagger in the dark. "In that case, they'll stop at nothing to save us, especially when they find out we're being held in a frozen cellar with barely enough of anything to sustain a mouse."

"I'll see to it that that is amended, but, if your friend's information proves false, I may have no choice but to attack Aslan before He attacks me. If I capture the other Humans before they can reach the enemies' camp, there will be no war and you can go back to your normal lives untainted by such terrible, bloody conflict. Just imagine the little one you told me of standing and watching as men were stabbed and slashed to death, dropping into a marsh of their own blood, which would instantly be mixed with even more carnage. Few would make it alive out of such a thing and no one comes from a battle untarnished. I would, of course, win…but is such a sacrifice really necessary? If I can stop your friends and convince them to turn back, Aslan won't have His excuse to bring this whole country into war and scar six perfectly wonderful children."

Honestly, after that speech, it began to make sense. Without the supposed Kings and Queens, the fearful Lion couldn't muster enough support to raise them to their thrones. No monarchs, no thrones to defend, no war, and they could all go back home, which was sounding very appealing after everything.

"How will you convince them?"

"If you tell me something about Peter, Susan, and Lucy that I could use to convince them to come with me…to see logic…and if you come with me if I must go after them myself (which is terribly unlikely), we could make this so much easier. Seeing you at my side would be such a wonderful help."

"What of Kate?"

"From what you told me of your cousin, she will be easily convinced."

That wasn't really true. Kathryn wouldn't necessarily hinder the Pevensies if they made a decision concerning the Queen's logic, but it never meant that she actually approved.

"What do you need to know?"

The Queen grinned welcomingly, moved over a little in her seat, and opened part of her grand cloak.

"My darling, you look so cold. And after all the help you are giving me! Come sit here with me. How about something hot to drink?"

* * *

Uncertainly, Edmund hungrily tasted the unappealing bread on the tray, instantly spitting it out upon discovering that it tasted absolutely terrible. He met with equal success with the drink, which was frozen solid. Letting your emotions (in his case, anger with his family for being so 'mean') lead all of your decisions to the point of sending your siblings to their deaths certainly did not pay off.

"Are you gonna eat that?" someone asked from the cell on the other side of the broken wall. Ed peeked around to see a Faun leaning against the wall opposite himself, with its goat legs shackled at the ankle. The boy handed him the bread, more than happy to be rid of it, and was slightly surprised to see the creature bite down on it ravenously.

"Mr…Tumnus."

"Your Lucy Pevensie's brother."

"I'm Edmund." He said that with shameless surprise.

"You have the same nose." The boy automatically reached to touch his nose. "Is your sister all right? Is she safe?"

The fact that he was a traitor bit back with renewed vigor.

"I…I don't know."

Suddenly, the conversation was interrupted as the Witch stormed in, causing both captives to shift to the back wall.

"My Wolves tore that dam apart; your little family was nowhere to be found," she said, viciously dragging Ed to his feet by the collar. "Where are they?"

"I don't know!" he cried.

"Then you are no longer any use to me…guard!"

"Wait! They said something about Aslan." The words left his mouth before he could stop them.

"Aslan? Where?"

The friendly Faun tried coming to his defense.

"The stranger has only been in Narnia a short…" he began, only to be viciously hit in the head by the savage guard, almost as a warning to the boy, who again burst out. Despite his guilt, self preservation was still dominant.

"I left before I could hear any more…I wanted to see you again."

Her attention switched to the mythical creature and she dropped Ed in the process of calling the guard once more.

"Release the Faun." The breaking chains and being dropped at the Witch's feet near Edmund caused Tumnus to yelp. "Do you know why you are here?"

In that moment, all of the Faun's terror, which had seemingly ruled him since he and Ed had met, disappeared and he looked fearlessly up at Jadis, saying,

"Because I believe in a free Narnia."

"You're here because he turned you in…for sweeties," she coldly replied, motioning pointedly to the boy before turning back to the guard and her pet dwarf. "Take him upstairs and ready my sleigh. Edmund misses his family."

As Mr. Tumnus was dragged off and Jadis refocused her attention on the Son of Adam, Edmund got a significant sinking feeling in his gut.

* * *

Susan and her siblings gasped at the view as they stood on an enormous natural rock bridge. The land stretched for miles as far as the eye could see with a wide river, jaw-dropping cliffs, beautiful forests, and massive plains.

"Now, Aslan's camp is just over there by the Stone Table just across the frozen river," Mr. Beaver stated, pointing to a spot far off.

"River?" the older girl questioned, wondering how they were going to manage crossing it.

"It's been frozen for a hundred years," the lady Beaver answered.

"It seems so far," Peter noted in turn.

"It's the world, dear. Did you expect it to be small?"

"Smaller," Susan worried. This magical land and adventure was wreaking havoc on her logical mind.

* * *

If Ed had been queasy before, his stomach was doing flip-flops after seeing the stone figure of Mr. Tumnus as he was led towards the waiting sled at the far side of the room. Jadis and Margie were already waiting, the former in the actual seat and the latter curled up on the floor, looking very much warmer than the boy.

"Whenever you are ready, Son of Adam," the Witch said, ripping his attention from the innocent Faun. That look of hurt and betrayal on the creature's face haunted him.

Once sitting beside Margaret, he leaned over.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm doing just fine," she replied, seeming oddly full of herself, even for her.

"What did she want?"

"She wanted to help," the girl snapped, just enough to make Ed glance doubtfully up at the self-proclaiming Queen.

* * *

The child laughed giddily as she hadn't done in years when she saw the pretty pink buds on a nearby tree. The giggling girl completely contrasted the frightened, hunted mouse from a short time before. The fact was: she trusted her Guide as an infant would its parent. How could anyone not?

_It was the second time she had been in Narnia, but, without the falcon leading her, she was feeling quite lost at this point._

"_He…hello?" she questioned as the bushes rustled persistently._

"_Hello, Kathryn."_

_The girl let out a little squeak upon discovering a giant lion standing behind her…but, for some reason, she didn't feel panicked like a normal person stumbling onto a man-eating feline in the woods would. _

"_How…how do you know my name?"_

"_I have been waiting for you."_

_The creature's voice was warm and soothing, but sad, like waves in the ocean lapping gently against the sand._

"_Waiting…for me?"_

"_You and your companions."_

"_Why?"_

_Why wasn't she scared?_

"_Your new friends, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are to be Kings and Queens. They will help me restore peace and be the guardians of this land."_

"_You're kidding."_

"_No; I will need your help, Kathryn."_

"_Me? I can't even help myself. What's makes you think I'll be any help for you?"_

"_You are stronger than you yet realize. You will find it before this conflict ends. Take courage, dear heart."_

"_I still don't understand how __any__ of us fit into this."_

"_When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone _

_Sits in Cair Paravel in throne, _

_The evil is over and done._

_And when Adam's bone answers the call, _

_Forever may Narnia all _

_Its enemies in vain enthrall._

_Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,_

_At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, _

_When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, _

_And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again."_

"_Adam's flesh and bone? Who…?"_

"_Trust, dear one," he interrupted, though not with any impatience. "The path is already set before your feet. All you have to do is open your eyes to see it."_

_With that, the terrifying beauty turned and stalked back into the trees and the feeling of belonging practically took over…so much so that she nearly dreaded returning to the Professor's home._

Kate fingered her silver necklace, wondering what Father Christmas had meant during their encounter shortly before, leaving no precious prizes for the girl. Instead, he had said,

"_You will find gifts to aid you in this fight soon enough and none of my trinkets can match the gift you already have in that chain. It is more valuable than any tool."_

What he meant, she had no clue.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	8. We Shall Have Spring Again

Thanks princess emma of narnia, Noel Ardnek, LucyOfNarnia, and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!

Sarah McLachlan's "Drifting" is with scenes 2-3…

We Shall Have Spring Again

Hours passed. The Beavers had been insisting for the longest time that they were nearing the bottom of the long incline, but Peter had serious doubts as to the truthfulness of that statement.

"Come on, before we're old!" Mr. Beaver called again from up ahead, his voice starting to grate on the ears of the boy, who grumbled to his sisters,

"If he tells me to hurry up one more time, I'm going to turn him into a big fluffy hat."

"Hurry up, Son of Adam! We don't have all day."

"He is getting kind of bossy," Lucy noted grimly. The eldest Pevensie couldn't but smile a little to himself at Lucy's maturity through all of this. He kept going back and forth between pride and regret, wondering if it was really right for a nine-year-old girl to have to act older to match circumstances.

All of a sudden, the sound of jingling bells rang through the forest.

"It's her! Run!" Mr. Beaver cried, leading the group under an overhanging rock near the path. "Quick; down here!"

As soon as the noise sounded as if it was directly over them, it stopped and several moments passed with the only thing heard being the panting breaths of the runners.

"Maybe she's gone," Lucy finally whispered.

"I'll go and have a look," Peter stated quietly, though Mr. Beaver interrupted before he could move.

"No; you're no good to Narnia dead."

"Neither are you, Beaver," the female interjected kindly, touching her husband's arm.

"Thanks, dear."

As the little Animal crawled around the corner, something struck a chord in the boy. Despite their squabbling and subtlety, the obviousness of the Beavers' affection for each other somehow warmed Peter to the core with its sincerity and delicacy.

Suddenly, a jumping movement in front of them caused Lucy to scream after the tension of the wait; however, it was in fact a very excited Beaver, who chattered,

"I hope you've been good, because there is someone to see you."

Puzzled, the children followed him back out towards the path…and discovered a big, jolly-looking man with a long white beard in a red coat standing beside an elegant sleigh led by several brown reindeer.

"Merry Christmas, sir!" the youngest giggled.

"It certainly is, Lucy, since you have arrived," the laughing old man replied with a smile.

"I thought there was no Christmas in Narnia," Susan mused.

"It hasn't been for a hundred year, but now, the Witch's power is crumbling." With that, he moved back to his sled, lifted a heavy-looking bag from it, and opened the sack, earning a cry of glee from Lucy.

"Presents!"

"Lucy, Eve's Daughter, these are for you," Father Christmas said, producing two small items and gently handing her the first: a small crystal bottle with a red liquid in it. "The juice of the Fire Flower. If you or one of your friends are wounded, one drop of this cordial will restore them. And, though I do not expect you to use it: this." He then gave the girl his second gift of a knife.

"Well, I think I could be brave enough."

"I'm sure you could…but battles are ugly affairs." Then, he turned to Susan with a beautiful bow and quiver in his hand. "Eve's Daughter, Susan, trust in this bow, for it does not easily miss."

"What happened to, 'battles are ugly affairs'?" the receiver doubtfully queried, nevertheless taking the proffered items. She was ignored as the man pulled out and offered yet another gift for her.

"And, though you don't seem to have trouble making yourself heard…" That statement produced a chuckle from both other siblings. "…this. When you put this horn to your lips and blow it, wherever you are, help will come."

"Thanks."

"And Peter…" Peter was at a loss for words as the giver turned his kind eyes on the third Pevensie and presented him with a majestic sword and belt with a lion-head pommel, as well as a shining shield also with a lion featured. "The time to use these may be near at hand."

Having his hand on the weapon's handle almost felt natural; he gripped it, drew the stunning metal from its cradle, and looked with awe at the blade.

"Thank you, sir," was all he could say as he marveled, but he could feel Father Christmas' calculating eyes on him, knowing the awe, shock, and strain the boy was experiencing from all these newly-placed burdens.

"These are tools, not toys. Bare them well and wisely." The dancing returned to the man's eyes as Peter returned the sword to its scabbard and he bent down to grab his bag. "Now, I best be off! Winter is almost over and things do pile up when you've been gone a hundred years. Long live Aslan!" With that final declaration, Father Christmas climbed onto the sled and took the reins in his hand. "And Merry Christmas!"

A chorus of 'Goodbye' and 'Merry Christmas' followed the legend as he disappeared into the distance.

"Told you he was real," Lucy told Susan, turning back with a smirk.

Peter interrupted the mood.

"He said winter was almost over." It suddenly dawned on him. "You know what that means: no more ice!"

* * *

Susan watched a slight panic overcome her brother as they once again came into view of the river; the ice was practically crumbling.

"We need to cross now!" he yelled.

"Don't beavers make dams?" Lucy objected, quickly answered by Mr. Beaver.

"I'm not that fast, dear."

"Come on!" Peter insisted.

"Wait! Maybe we should think about this for a minute," Susan cried, stopping their progress.

"We don't have a minute," he growled, incredibly annoying the girl with how he kept trying to take charge.

"I was just trying to be realistic."

"No, you're trying to be smart…as usual!" The disconcertingly close sound of a wolf howl urged her forward.

By the time they reached the river, the girl had serious doubts, so much so that she had absolutely no problem complying when Mr. Beaver told them,

"Wait; maybe I should go first."

Peter, who had tested the ice and found that it broke with barely a touch, seemed to finally be getting some sense with his response:

"Maybe you should."

"You've been sneaking second helpings, haven't you?" Mrs. Beaver called, scowling as the ice cracked a little under the male's little weight.

"Well," it answered, "you never know what meal is gonna be your last, especially with your cooking."

"If Mum knew what we were doing…" Susan began while they started following over the ever-cracking surface, only to be cut short by her snapping brother.

"Mum's not here!" They were about halfway to the other side when Lucy's cry alerted them to the Wolves, who could be seen racing ahead of them at the top of the waterfall. "Run!"

Before they knew it, two giant Wolves were standing on the collapsing ice in front of them, blocking their way. Three more cut them off from behind and one of the forward Animals grabbed Mr. Beaver, who had swatted at them, and pinned him down. Trying to be a hero, Peter pulled out his new sword and awkwardly pointed it at the lead offender, who scoffed,

"Put that down, boy. Someone might get hurt."

"Don't worry about me!" the captive cried. "Slit his throat!"

"Leave now, while you can, and you're brother leaves with you."

"Stop, Peter," Susan yelled. "Maybe we should listen to him!"

"Smart girl."

Beaver protested.

"Don't listen to him. Kill him. Kill him, now!"

Glaring at the scene before her, Susan once again tried to be the voice of reason.

"Look, just because some man in a red suit hands you a sword doesn't make you a hero, so just drop it!"

"No, Peter, Narnia needs ya!"

It was obvious to everyone that Peter was torn between the reality of him only being a fifteen-year-old school boy and the fantasy of him being a great king of prophecy. Apparently, the lead Wolf saw it too as his voice of temptation took up the call once more.

"What's it gonna be, Son of Adam? We're not going to wait forever…and neither is the river."

"Peter!" Lucy's cry alerted the other two children to the present reality of being on an ever-thinning cover of ice on a probably raging river.

"Hold on to me!" the boy ordered, stabbing his weapon into the ice just as giant chunks of frozen water came tumbling down from the cliff, breaking their floor and sending the group floating down the angry stream. After they emerged from being initially plunged into the freezing water, Susan watched their uncertain path with stiff horror as she clung to her brother…she would never mock his courage again!

With the help of the swimming Beavers, the frozen raft eventually floated to shore. The Wolves, thankfully, were nowhere in sight. Their relief, however, was promptly cut short as they saw what Peter was holding: Lucy's empty coat…and no Lucy.

"What have you done?" the girl exclaimed, completely distraught, even as they proceeded to call for the youngest of their party. As angry as she was, though, Susan felt almost a little guilty for how awful she had been to her older sibling after seeing the horror on his face.

"Has anyone seen my coat?"

They all turned towards the familiar voice, discovering a very wet Lucy walking towards them on the shore. Encouraged, a fond note came from the recovering Mr. Beaver.

"Don't worry, dear. Your brother has you well looked after."

Overwhelmed with relief, the family embraced and, as she laughed in her comforted state, Susan realized how true that statement was. She had always taken her brother's protectiveness for granted as a childish fancy with the sudden responsibilities placed upon his shoulders. Now, she realized how much he genuinely cared and how he had always protected his family…and always would…

"I don't think you'll be needing those coats anymore," Mrs. Beaver stated, making them notice the springtime buds on the nearby trees.

* * *

"It's so warm here!" the evil dwarf exclaimed, moving to remove his heavy coat. He stopped, however, when the Queen gave him a stare that could have refrozen the freely flowing river, earning a quiet snigger from the girl. "I think I'll go check the sleigh."

A growl from behind the group caught their attention and they turned to discover a pack of Wolves emerging from the trees, hauling a Fox with them.

"We found the traitor," one said, dropping his victim. "He was gathering troops near the sharwood forest."

"Nice of you to drop by," Jadis noted. "I understand you were so helpful to my Wolves last night. Perhaps you can help me now."

The Fox gallantly bowed while replying.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty."

"Don't waste my time with flattery."

"Not to seem rude, but I wasn't actually talking to you." To prove his point, he glanced at Edmund.

"Where are the Humans headed?"

Just as Jadis was apparently going to hit the Fox with her wand, a seemingly guilt-laden Ed protested,

"Wait! The Beavers said something about the Stone Table and that Aslan had an army there."

"An army? Thank you, Edmund. I am glad this creature got to see some honesty before he died."

With that, the relaxed wand hand made a flicking motion, turning the Fox into stone and the Queen whipped around to slap Edmund.

"No!"

"Think whose side you are on: mine…" She turned his head to look at the pitiful statue. "…or theirs? If it is a war Aslan wants…" Convulsively, she solidified a passing butterfly. "…it's a war he shall get."

Before Daisy could follow, Ed fiercely grabbed her arm, making her turn and study the red mark forming on his cheek.

"Why didn't you help?"

She smirked during her reply.

"Can't you stand up for yourself?"

"You couldn't stand up for him?" he whispered harshly, pointing at the Fox.

"Ed, can't you see that that midget helped them get away?"

"That's the point."

Suddenly, the boy was trying to be practical!

"When they get to Aslan, war will start, a bunch of people will die, and we may never get back to home and a normal life!"

"But, in helping the Witch, you are ruining every chance of their being safe. All she wants to do is kill us, Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Kate and rule Narnia forever! I already helped her. The least you could do is not make it worse."

"I'm not making it worse!"

"Well, if you consider losing every chance we have of ever seeing our families alive again not making it worse, you're doing a fantastic job."

Daisy's next action even surprised herself. With a cry of anger, she lashed out and punched the other child right in the mouth. She was practically speechless.

"Ed, I…I…"

"Don't worry about it," he cut in, a victorious look flashing into his eyes even as he moved back towards the sled with a hand against his jaw. "At least you're not making things worse."

* * *

As the children came in sight of the sprawling camp, a horn sounded, announcing their arrival. The previous hints of spring had exploded into green meadows, warm dirt, tall, deeply colored evergreens, and bright blue skies. The siblings had long since ditched their fur coats in the warmth. With their entrance into the camp, Susan noted through a smile the attention being placed upon them by the centaurs, fauns, and other strange creatures.

"Why are they all staring at us?"

"Maybe they think you look funny," Lucy light-heartedly answered, earning a warm smile from Peter, who was quite relieved that they had finally reached their goal.

After a few minutes of walking down the center path, the travelers reached the end where a large tent on a over-cropping stood, beside which was a battle-hardened centaur with dark, long hair. Uncertainly, Peter unsheathed his sword and pointed it forward.

"We have come to see Aslan," the boy announced, noticing with chagrin that his voice shook ever so slightly.

Instead of replying, the centaur looked over to the tent just as a slight breeze stirred the flap. Seeing the movement, all warriors behind the newcomers knelt and, after a moment, there emerged the most magnificent thing Peter had ever seen: a great Lion.

When the creature moved to stand in front of the family, as if by instinct, the young warrior knelt on one knee with his sword upright in front of him.

"Welcome, Peter, Son of Adam," Aslan greeted. "Welcome, Susan and Lucy, Daughters of Eve. And welcome to you, Beavers. You have my thanks. But where is the fourth?"

Peter shifted uncomfortably as he stood, sheathing his weapon.

"That's why we're here, sir. We need your help."

"We had a little trouble along the way," Susan added.

"Our brother has been captured by the White Witch."

"Captured?" Aslan echoed, though without much surprise. "How could this happen?"

Mr. Beaver apparently saw the young man's reluctance in answering that particular question and piped up.

"He…betrayed them, Your Majesty."

"Then, he has betrayed us all," the centaur heatedly glowered, quickly cut off by the Lion.

"Peace, Oreius. I'm sure there's an explanation."

The feelings which had formed in the back of Peter's mind made their way forward in his words.

"It's my fault, really," he said quietly, ignoring his sisters' disbelieving stares. "I was too hard on him."

Putting an encouraging hand on his shoulder, Susan added,

"We all were."

"Sir," Lucy put forth, "he's our brother."

Aslan's eyes softened in ancient sorrow with his reply.

"I know, dear one, but that only makes the betrayal all the worse. This may be harder than you think. Thankfully, however, we know where one of your lost companions is."

He turned back towards the tent and Peter's puzzlement quickly turned into shocked relief as Kathryn emerged and first went straight to Aslan, who allowed her to scratch his stunning mane. She was wearing a wide-sleeved soft rawhide, light coat that reached her shins and had ties at her chest and waist, under which was a bluish-white, probably cotton, shallow U-neck dress of one piece, as well as soft leather boots and a strange silver chain twice around her neck. Around her waist was a short leather belt with a simple, long dagger. Somehow, she looked…different…older and more comfortable.

"Close your mouth, Peter, before you catch flies. It's unbecoming," she chided with a teasing smile, reaching up and patting his cheek before moving towards the girls.

Definitely more comfortable.

"Kate!" Lucy cried, plastering herself against the other girl's torso.

"Kate." Peter interrupted the girl's giggling. "What happened?"

She raised a penciled eyebrow in lieu of her reply.

"So impatient, are we, my young king?"

He ground his teeth a little. A little too much more comfortable.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	9. Butterflies

Thanks Noel Ardnek, princess emma of narnia, and LucyOfNarnia for your reviews…and sorry for the delay!

The title 'Butterflies' stands for both the kind of butterflies you get when you're nervous and, figuratively, the occurrence of butterflies escaping from their cocoon.

Switchfoot's "This is Home" is for scene 1 and Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move" is for scene 2…

Butterflies

_Tears slowly trickled down Kathryn's cheeks some time after she had curled up against the tree where the snow wasn't quite so deep. The drops of salty water on her skin weren't slow in their travel towards the earth for any directional reason; it was simply so cold that they were crystallizing almost the second her eyes allowed them to escape. _

_How could she have been stupid enough to think that racing onto the ice towards unknown peril would do anyone any good? She had made mistakes and poor judgments before…everyone did…but this topped it all. Now, she was lost in a strange, snowy forest with no idea where she wanted to go. Going back to the Pevensies surely meant humiliation to the highest degree for her stupidity. Oh, why did she let the Lion's words get to her head? She wasn't strong…she would never be!_

_Though she didn't noticed when she fell asleep, Kate was eventually awakened by something soft against her numb face. With more effort than anticipated, she opened her eyes, instantly seeing the silhouette of a huge figure in the dark. The fuzzy thing now under her arm and warming her slightly was apparently a large Fox. Noticing that she was conscious, the ball of fur moved to her back and began nudging her towards the giant creature nearby, saying,_

"_Come on, little one. Over here."_

_With considerable effort, she accomplished, with the Animal's help, getting onto the Lion's back, grasping His mane like a horse's._

"_You have my thanks, Mr. Fox," the great Cat said. "I wish you luck in recruiting."_

_The Fox bowed deeply._

"_Thank you, Your Majesty. I shall see you later; for now, I must hurry."_

"_Return safely. I'm sure the little lady will want to thank you for your generosity."_

"_Anything I can do for the incarnation of prophecy."_

_As the kind Animal walked away into the falling snowflakes, Kate drifted off again._

_SSSSS_

"_I know you have doubts, but you __must__ trust me, Kathryn. It is the only way you will be able to pass the tests."_

_Kate, who was now completely refreshed, clean, well-rested, and sitting outside Aslan's tent sipping tea next to a small fire to keep away the early morning chill, looked up from watching the dancing flames. Before responding to the lounging Cat, she looked to where the sun was just about halfway over the mountainous horizon._

"_You keep mentioning these…tests, Aslan. What do you mean?"_

"_As you are aware, the four Kings and Queens are not the only people foretold in the prophecy and your coming here with the Pevensies was no mere chance. Soon, I will ask you and your cousin for help…help which only the two of __you__ can give…and it will not be easy. The trials you must face will be hard, but the rewards will be great. The only way you can succeed is to trust me and my plan."_

"_And what is that?"_

"_That is where the trust comes in. The lives of you and your cousin may sometimes depend on it."_

"'_Sometimes'…as in: it may happen more than once?" With an amused upturn of his lips, Aslan nodded slightly. "I suppose, if you answer my questions, I'll only be more confused."_

"_I'm afraid so."_

_Since all she could really do was resign herself to the idea of trusting Aslan, Kate raised her cup with an almost cocky grin._

"_Here's to my fate."_

Sure, maybe she was acting a little too comfortable with whole 'trusting Aslan' thing…but what else could she do? She was safe with Aslan and, if she was going to trust Him, now was as good a time as any.

"Kate!" Peter addressed her for the third time in his pursuit as she bent down to inspect the sword of a lounging faun.

"May I?" she gently queried. When the creature handed the weapon to her and she smoothly twirled it, Peter somewhat lost his composure.

"Kate, what happened to you? Two days ago, you could hardly look at anything without first knowing exactly what it was and where it came from. Now, you're patting cheeks at random and flipping a sword around like you've done it for years." She flashed him a grin prior to handing the sword back and walking towards the outskirts of the camp. "Come on, Kate, what has this place done to you?"

Kathryn stopped in front of a red, blossoming tree, the name of which she did not know.

"I'm not the only one Narnia has changed, Peter. You may have acted older before, but now you are older." He obviously wasn't satisfied. "Oreus gave me a lesson this morning." Apparently, that didn't cut it. "…and Daisy and I took fencing…my ballet tutor is talented in more ways than one."

"That doesn't explain the big change."

Finally, Kate sighed in frustration.

"Don't you feel something? This place…it's just…it feels like…" She looked into the boy's eyes to find an answer. "Even though I never saw this place before stumbling in with Lucy, I've never felt more at home than I do, now. Something tells me that you feel the same."

"Peter…" Aslan interjected before an answer could come. "I would like to talk you."

With a nod, Peter complied, not even looking back. Just as Kate was puzzling at the strange feeling in her stomach, she caught sight of something familiar and ran to the figure coming over the hill. The falcon-lady looked exactly the same as before with her dusty hair, bird eyes, and practical clothes, except she seemed more tired.

"You know, you never told me your name," the girl laughed, earning a quirked smile from her former greeter.

"You're right. My name is Aida. I help those in need...and I have chosen to help you."

"Instead of just a helper…can you be my friend?"

The beautiful woman smiled sadly.

"I have not had a real friend for many years…" As if the subject brought up bad memories, she shook her head. "…for now, though, I must go to Aslan."

* * *

"That is Cair Paravel of the four thrones…one of which you must sit on as High King." The Lion glanced at Peter when he said nothing before continuing. "You doubt the prophecy?"

"No," the young man replied quickly, "that's just it…I'm not who you think I am."

"Peter Pevensie, formerly of Finchley…Beaver also said you wanted to turn him into a hat." They both chuckled at that, but the humor didn't last. "Peter…there is a Deep Magic that rules over Narnia. It defines right from wrong and helps us fulfill destinies, both yours and mine."

Suddenly, the comforting pommel under his hand felt foreign.

"I don't think I will be able."

"You were able to get your family here."

"…not all of them."

"I will do what I can for Edmund. I too want my family safe."

The conversation seemed to be complete; however, something tickled the back of Peter's mind.

"What of the Bentens? Kate's completely changed and Daisy is off gallivanting with the White Witch. If my brother and sisters and I are supposed to sit on the thrones…what will happen to them?"

Aslan glanced at him sideways (almost amused!).

"Margaret is the older and yet…you mentioned Kathryn first. That makes me curious."

An unexpected flush shocked the Pevensie into staring at the Creature.

"I…there's no…particular reason."

He just shook his head, grinning for some reason, and continued as if He hadn't even placed the tease.

"Did you not listen to Kathryn when she told you that part of the prophecy? Beaver told me of that as well."

"I'm afraid that I…"

"…And when Adam's bone answers the call,

Forever may Narnia all

Its enemies in vain enthrall," He interrupted. "There is a very important task I will ask them to accomplish. I can only hope that you will let them succeed."

"Me?" Peter burst out, stunned with confusion. "Why me?"

"There are things you must discover on your own, Peter…but, for now, we must talk of what lies before us. Aida…you have returned."

Feeling a slight breeze to his right, Peter turned to see a woman in perhaps her early twenties, about his height, suddenly standing beside him, gazing intensely with sorrowful, glowing eyes at the Lion on his other side. Something told him that she wasn't human and his only hint was a feather that slowly floated to the ground a moment later nearby. As if the boy wasn't even there, she glided to stand before the Great Cat and knelt, still holding His gaze.

"It has been far too long, dear one," Aslan continued. Aida's focus shifted slightly at the kind address.

"Indeed it has, Your Majesty." Her low voice remained steady, but her eyes betrayed an inner struggle. Peter almost wondered if leaving the delicate conversation would be a better choice than standing there like an idiotic ghost. "How can you ever forgive for the wrong I have done to you?"

A heavy paw lightly touched the woman's broad (well, broad for a petite lady) shoulder.

"The only wrong you have done is to yourself."

"But I must pay for my crimes!"

Aslan sighed, defeated, as He removed His paw; humble Aida suddenly had sparks in her glowing eyes.

"Did you commit these supposed crimes just to give yourself an excuse for me to…?"

"Yes!" she cut in. Peter just then realized that the woman was standing.

"Are you sure? You do realize that this will be very difficult at times."

"This is what I have always wanted. I begged you for years to allow me to help."

The Creature's sigh sounded like an avalanche.

"And allow you I shall."

With a smile, the woman turned to walk down the hill towards the camp. Peter had no idea what he had just witnessed or what Aslan had just given in to, but it seemed very much like the time Edmund 'accidently' fell down, scraped his knee, and got the same cookie he had been denied before as a comfort.

* * *

"Mother hasn't had a dress like this since before the War," Susan wondered, pleasing herself by fingering the soft material of the beautiful green dress she had been given and staring into the clear water.

Lucy, wearing her new gray-blue dress, excitedly added,

"Maybe we should bring back a whole trunk full when we go home!"

"If we go home…" The older girl looked up at her sibling, suddenly realizing how terrible she was being. "Sorry; I guess I'm like that. Remember when we used to have fun?"

"Yes…before you got boring," Lucy giggled.

"Oh, really?"

With a mischievous laugh, Susan commenced a joyous water fight, which expanded after Kate, who had been undoing her braids nearby, was accidentally splashed. After a few moments of this carefree pleasure, Susan tired of it and went to fetch her towel; however, she was met with a very unpleasant sight.

"Now, we're very tired; we'd prefer to kill you quickly," the Wolf stated as his scruffy companion circled around on the other side. As Susan hurled her towel and lunged for her horn, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Kathryn unclipping her necklace.

* * *

Peter charged after the pleading ring of Susan's horn, tailed closely by Aslan and apparently a good part of the army. Without any actual thinking involved, he plunged across the creek to where his sisters were cornered in a tree by the two snapping beasts, took out his sword, and faced off one of the Wolves before glancing at a seated Kate. Only seconds prior, she had been holding at bay the enemy that was now safely under the paws of Aslan…with her strung-out necklace. A deep scratch on the Animal's nose showed a testament to her short-lived battle.

"Stay back," Aslan ordered His second-in-command, who seemed inclined to lop off the head of the boy's challenger. "This is Peter's battle."

While the sword still seemed somewhat stiff in his hand, Peter felt slightly more confident than before…slightly. The Wolf taunted him, just as before, but this time there was an audience. Aslan was watching, as was the army and…her. He didn't know whether the flutter in his stomach was from the audience in general, the idea of killing, or the presence of those uncharacteristically calculating eyes.

With a flash of movement, the Wolf lunged towards his sword and pinned the young warrior down with his dead weight.

The moment the thing was rolled off of him, Peter bewilderedly looked around and was instantly tackled by the two girls with a hug of relief. On the side, Aida could be seen talking gravely to his other companion, who still watched him. Meanwhile, Aslan released his prey and, as it fled into the forest, order the troops,

"Follow him! He'll lead you to Edmund." As all fighters, including Aida rushed into the trees, He continued. "Peter, clean your sword." A certain swell filled the young warrior when the Lion motioned him to his knees and Aslan touched his shoulders with a great paw. "Rise, Sir Peter Wolfsbane: Knight of Narnia."

The boy…Knight…nearly gaped at the title, but was encouraged once more by an encore of his sisters embracing him. He turned abruptly to see the younger Benten in front of him, grinning like any young girl.

"Well done," she murmured with a slight bow of the head, her eyes dancing and her now-loose hair draping closer to her eyes, "…Sir Peter."

* * *

"_I'm sorry."_

_The weird dwarf was finally taking a break from tormenting the two children, who had been tied to a tree instantly upon their arrival. Ed twisted around to face the girl on his right, asking,_

"_What for? This is all my fault."_

"_Don't be ridiculous!"_

"_All right…I'll settle for equal responsibility."_

_Daisy looked away with a quiet chuckle, blushing. That was when the dwarf came back to gag them__. Several minutes passed with continued tormenting. A low growl escaped past Margaret's gag as it presented a dagger and teased her friend with it. The idea of thinking of Edmund Pevensie as her friend almost made the girl growl a second time. The moment was thankfully broken by sudden chaos. More of the Witch's troops fled than those who tried to hold off the attacking Narnians. All the children could do, unfortunately, was plaster themselves against the tree in hopes of not getting trampled. Just as the dwarf seemed to consider cutting the throats of his two last victims, he was stunned by someone knocking him over the head with the hilt of a dagger. _

_The savior then turned towards the captives, looking down an almost beak-like nose with her fierce eyes. Daisy's idea of her rescuer being an angel was put off by the bloody, foot-long dagger the woman held in her free hand. Cutting the children loose, she stuffed the dazed dwarf against the trunk and, while working with stunning speed to secure him, spoke to her apparent charges. _

"_You are Edmund Pevensie and Margaret Benten." It wasn't a question; the accent seemed slightly exotic. Finished securing the snarling dwarf, she cleaned her dagger, stood, and sheathed the weapon. "I am Aida. Aslan sent me. We must go." On impulse, Daisy tried to disappear into the rush (she didn't know why), but the woman suddenly had a death-grip on her arm. "Let's make this as easy as possible for me, all right? I'm a bit new to this job." Between confusion, the girl chuckled as Ed took his revenge by pinning the dwarf's conical hat straight up with the creature's dagger. "We should go before the Witch comes."_

"Why did you try running?"

Margaret blinked at the question.

"_Get out! Run, Kate!" the lighter brunette called, getting out of the car and grabbing her cousin as she headed for shelter._

"_Stop!"_

"_What?"_

"_If that building blew up, what makes you think we'll be safe in another one?"_

Was she really that afraid?

"I…I don't know. I guess I just am like that. Foolish."

"Another thing we share, I suppose."

Laughing, the girl looked back up at the woman who had saved them as she walked at the head of the returning army with a giant centaur.

"Where are they taking us?"

"I think we're finally going to meet Aslan."

I must say that I enjoy doing things from Peter's POV. Don't know why! ;) Anyway, I recently finished watching the last episode of 'Lost' and I have to say that it is a GREAT show, though I had to watch the finale twice to actually not be completely "lost". Thanks for reading and please review!


	10. Redemption

Thanks princess emma of narnia, Noel Ardnek, and Princess of Narnia 1192 for your reviews!

Redemption

"Edmund!" Lucy cried upon espying her brother, who turned his head from the early morning hilltop conversation with the great Lion; she was stopped abruptly, however, by a warning grasp on her arm from Peter. A moment later, Edmund came slowly walking down the hill, soon followed by Aslan and a bedraggled Margaret. The younger brother had a genuinely remorseful expression none of his siblings had seen for more than a year beyond his mask of a brat; Daisy had a similarly sad approach, though there was also a mysteriously purposeful look that nearly matched the one Kate wore.

"What's done is done," Aslan announced mildly. "There is no reason to bring up the past with Edmund or Margaret."

As He left the families to their reunion, Ed awkwardly said,

"Hello…"

"Oh, Edmund!" the youngest exclaimed happily, being joined by her sister in embracing him.

"How are you feeling?" Susan queried upon backing away.

"I'm feeling kind of tired," he replied quietly, respectfully standing to the side while Daisy was shown the same courtesy of a hug. A slight, familiar pause followed as the children waited for Peter's input.

"Get some rest," was all he said at first. Lucy looked disappointedly at the scene as the younger boy started to comply, but Peter apparently couldn't hold a grudge for very long and ended the introduction on a lighter note. "…and Edmund…try not to wander off again." Once Ed was a distance away, Peter turned to the other refugee, who had just received a welcoming embrace from her cousin. "Are you all right, Daisy?"

"Quite well, thank you," the girl chirped, shifting the bag on her shoulder with a sly grin. "After all, I had the best prison companion a girl could ask for and made a new friend on top of it all. Good night."

As she strode away, Lucy caught Peter shaking his head, as if baffled, looking towards the rising sun. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Kate's strange friend, Aida, appeared with their group, causing Lucy to take a sharp breath in surprise. The great lady smiled secretively down at her upon seeing her reaction, though her focus seemed mostly to be on Margaret.

"An odd relation you have there, Kathryn," the newcomer stated. She didn't seem to notice the bits of dried blood staining her long-fingered hands. "I think I will greatly enjoy this task." With no further adieu beyond a nod of the head to the recent Knight, she strolled casually toward the makeshift training area.

* * *

"Narnia isn't going to run out of toast, Edmund," Lucy laughed a couple hours later as the children were sitting down for breakfast.

"Then you better pack some for the journey," Peter stated, having long decided to send his companions away from danger.

"So…we're going home?" Susan queried.

"You are. I promised I'd keep you three safe…but there's no reason I can't stay and help."

"But they need us…all of us!" the youngest objected. Peter almost softened at the little one's bravery…almost.

"Lucy, it's too dangerous. You almost drowned. Kate nearly froze. Edmund and Margaret were almost killed!"

"…which is why we have to stay." Edmund's sudden speaking after such a long time of silence directed all eyes to him. "I've seen what the White Witch can do…and I've helped her do it…and we can't leave these people behind to suffer for it." His resolve was shocking, but Peter could only nod in resignation and turn to the Benten girls.

"Well?"

Though Kate only sent an 'are you joking' look over her bit of butter-smothered toast in reply, Margaret had plenty to say.

"Well what? There's no question about whether or not I'm staying. I'm partially why this happened. The least I can do is stand up for them and take my part."

Susan got up with an air of resignation, saying,

"Well, I guess that's it, then."

"Where are you going?" Peter objected.

She smiled vengefully.

"To get in some practice."

As everyone else stood, the young man noticed Kathryn contemplatively twirling her unlatched necklace.

"Kate?"

She smiled distantly before answering.

"I have a challenge to eventually meet. Dais and I will need more weapons than a necklace whip."

* * *

Kate and Daisy peacefully walked among the tents looking for what could be considered an armory. Not much had been said between them concerning past events, except for the events of their first encounters with Narnia, including Aida's mysterious appearance and apparent nature. The only difference with their interactions was that they both had a strange sense of purpose. Finally arriving at a large, white tent with hundreds of different weapons on racks stacked in two rows outside its entrance, from which escaped massive amounts of steam and the tangy scent of sweat, they stopped and waited to be noticed. While a Minotaur and two black-haired dwarves could be seen pounding away at wood and metal inside the temporary blacksmith shop/armory, it was the big-nosed faun which addressed them as he studiously laid a few newly-created arms in their place.

"You must be two of our latest recruits," he drawled companionably, not really looking up.

"I am Kathryn and this is Margaret," the younger girl stated, earning the creature's full attention as his saucer-round turned to them in realization that his customers were Daughters of Eve.

"Forgive me, my Lady. To what occasion do I have this honor?"

"If you have a moment to spare, my cousin and I will likely be in need of weapons."

The faun's eyes twinkled with delight as he took his time in giving Daisy a good look-over. After a moment, he gently poked the older girl's arm, chewing his lip.

"Let the flies plague me if I'm wrong, but you're an archer."

A breath of a laugh escaped Kate's lips at the error, but she was given a shock with Margaret's reply.

"I have used blades more, but I prefer a bow and arrow, yes." She glanced at her stunned relation. "I did more than drive a car without anyone knowing."

"This is an archer's arm, if I ever saw one." He gave Kate a similar look-over, noting her ever ballet-like stance and declaring her a 'blade-dancer'. "…and I have just what you need." With a sudden bounce in his step, he trotted back into the tent, soon returning with an armload of different weapons wrapped in an oiled cloth, including a bow and a sheathed sword. "Near forty years ago, I was leaving my cousin's in the Lantern Waste when I stumbled upon a patch of forest with no snow. In fact, I would bet my beard that it looked like one of the summer days of old. In the middle of this miracle was a small maple tree. These things were hung all around its branches and they were guarded by a beautiful falcon; however, it flew away as soon as I got there. I think they were meant, one day, to be yours."

To Daisy he gave a polished, medium-brown, gently curving bow that, standing on the ground, reached just past her waist, a lion-marked quiver bristling with arrows, two straight, foot-long daggers with polished wooden handles and a leather belt, and hard leather bracers and shin greaves. All were beautiful, shining examples of the art of craftsmanship and given and received as if they were sacred. Apparently, the day the faun had discovered the weapons had imbedded itself quite deeply in his memory. He seemed to think that his discovery of them was for some special purpose, despite the unlikelihood.

"Do you expect me to fight much?" Margaret humorously questioned.

"No," he responded, unruffled, "you are obviously the archer and those items go together. I am only the temporary custodian; these belong to you, now. As for the rest of these articles…" He presented the rest to Kate, who nearly dropped them out of the clumsiness. "I assume these are to be yours because you carry yourself like a blade-dancer and that necklace of yours seems fitting."

The cousins profusely thanked the proud faun and, after he excused himself with an immense workload, slipped outside the camp into a lightly treed field to examine the new treasures.

Kathryn finally took the time to really study her recent protection while Daisy smoothly donned hers as if it was natural. The fact was: she looked quite natural at that point. Wearing her armament, seemingly leather slippers, her hair held back with a rawhide cord, and a soft cotton, shin-length brown dress with a mild V-neck and long, flowing sleeves, both with a split on their front to allow her arms more movement.

Kate's weapons included several five-inch daggers, the smooth, round hilts of which were a stony, bluish-black wood (she had no idea what she was to do with these), a long, curved sword with an elegant, long hilt that matched the daggers, and two slim matching bracers with vines of silver decorating their entirety. The black leather belt fit well around her waist, despite the fact that the whole getup was clearly constructed for an adult, as was Daisy's.

"Well," the older girl began, admiring her own compliments and stretching to test her flexibility (which was surprisingly great, even though she hadn't been a dancer for very long before abandoning it for further scientific and mechanical studies), "I think I'm going to join Susan at the targets. Want to come along?"

Kate shook her head, but collected her side-dish daggers anyway.

"I want to pester one of the fauns into practicing with me." A glint appeared in the darker brunette's eyes. "The one thing you talked me into that I can actually thank you for: fencing. At least we won't be completely unprepared."

"We're not ready for a battle, though, Kate."

"I know. But we're ahead of the Pevensies. I doubt that any of them have held a weapon, other than, perhaps, a gun."

* * *

Lucy waved happily when Margaret appeared over the grassy hill, while Susan settled for a simple nod of the head as she prepared to use her bow. A few seconds later, the arrow landed with an impressive thud quite near the center of the distant target. As she neared the siblings, Daisy clapped, laughingly saying,

"Impressive! Have you used a bow before? You look practiced."

"I had a couple lessons," the elder Pevensie replied, pursing her lips at her imperfect mark. When the other fourteen-year-old knocked an arrow of her own and shot no closer than the first, Susan apparently felt a little better; however, their sympathy was mutually felt even more so when Lucy's swift throw of her little dagger landed perfectly in the center, outmatching both older ladies.

With a giggle at her gaping companions, the little one lightly noted,

"That's the first time I've thrown a knife like that."

She laughed even more when all Daisy could do was shake her head, trying not to chuckle.

* * *

"Come on, Ed! Sword hand up: like Oreius showed us," Peter ordered with his steed dancing underneath him.

Edmund's adjustment was interrupted as his own horse reared.

"Whoa, horsey!" he yelled.

"My name is Philip," it muttered, shocking the boy supremely.

"Oh…sorry."

"You better come quick!" Mr. Beaver called, suddenly appearing on the scene in earnest. "The White Witch has requested a meeting with Aslan!"

The brothers exchanged worried glances. Ed didn't know precisely what his brother was thinking, but, likely enough, he thought it had something to do with the Witch's former captives. The strange thing was: he was more concerned for Margie than himself.

* * *

The main path of the camp which led to Aslan's tent, the same path the children had taken during their arrival, was lined with every single member of the Lion's army. The Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve had a front seat viewing quite close to Aslan's canvas dwelling; the King Himself was standing on the rise where He had been previously.

"Jadis! Jadis!" the fat, evil little dwarf proclaimed loudly above the booing and growling of the onlookers as his queen was carried by four Cyclops on a giant, fur-laden litter towards the waiting Leader. Once her servers halted, the Witch hopped from her soft throne and walked forward, staring icily at all she saw, particularly Edmund and Margaret.

"You have traitors in your midst, Aslan," she noted, as if speaking of whether it might rain. While gasps rang out in the crowd, Aida, who was standing just beside the rise near the children, had a five-second staring contest with the cruel woman.

"Their offence was not against you," Aslan coolly replied.

Unfortunately, the cruel woman couldn't leave well enough alone.

"Perhaps…yet you allow the Falcon to roam freely with your herd while you know full well who she belongs to."

"Her allegiances are her choice alone. What has passed is no longer a threat."

"Have you forgotten the Deep Magic?"

"Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I was there when it was made."

"Then you will know that the boy and the girl belong to me. Those children will die on the Stone Table."

Despite being in her human form, Aida felt like ruffling her feathers in anger; nevertheless, her narrowed bird eyes seemed to catch enough of Jadis' attention. The chilling focus was split, however, when Peter unsheathed his sword and aimed it threateningly at the visitor, not that it would have done any good anyway. The Falcon knew better.

"Come and take it, then," the challenger said.

Jadis only scoffed.

"You think that a simple threat will deny me my right, little king? Aslan knows that, if I do not have blood as the Law demands, all of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water."

"Enough! I shall talk with you alone," Aslan growled turning toward His tent and motioning for the Witch to follow. He obviously saw the avian watcher's desire as He addressed her quietly. "You may come, Aida…" After she eagerly caught up to His side, He lowered His voice even more. "…but keep any foolish outbursts to yourself." Decently chastised, the woman resolved to remain silent and gave her word. She didn't realize how hard it would be, presently.

* * *

Kate blankly watched as Ed and Daisy simultaneously yanked a pinch of grass and twirled it in their fingers. Everyone had long since sat down on the lawn to wait.

"It's been almost an hour," Lucy complained worriedly. "What could they possibly be talking about?"

"Grownups have an odd way of handling things, sometimes, Lu," Peter replied tiredly.

The evil dwarf sidled up to them, hoping to have some fun tormenting.

"Her Majesty will get exactly what she wants," he gargled. "She came here knowing precisely what she would say."

The younger Benten glared. She hadn't yet had the pleasure of meeting the dwarf personally, but he obviously wasn't what anyone could call pleasant. So, she did what she could, stating matter-of-factly,

"A real queen would not lower herself to seek the audience of another if she truly thought she was above her rival."

As the humorously humiliated creature grumped away, the troops stirred with the sight of the emerging Witch, followed by Aslan.

"The Witch has denounced her claim," He declared when the Witch neared her seat, receiving the Narnians' joyful cheers.

"How will I know your promise will be kept?" Jadis inquired haughtily. The crowd's cheering turned to laughter when Aslan's ferocious roar frightened the Witch into sitting rather abruptly; although, something registered clearly in Kate's mind as wrong, especially when the Lion turned sadly to go back into His tent. While the other children remained joyful about having Ed and Margaret free and Lucy clearly saw Aslan's sadness, but followed her siblings away, Kathryn slipped after the Creature to Whom she had basically dedicated her complete service.

The tent itself was empty, aside from a great pile of furs and blankets for a bed, where Aslan was momentarily moving to lounge, and an empty chair in the middle, where the Witch had probably sat. Aida simply sat cross-legged on the ground in the corner with her head bent down in her hands and her hair sweeping forward. The Lion just sighed upon seeing the follower, but the Falcon rose from the red, rug-covered floor to stand beside the new-comer. Apparently crying wasn't something the bird-woman was prone to do, but she seemed close enough.

"What happened?" Kate queried, sensing the distress.

Aida gripped the girl's arm tightly and gazed brokenly at the resting Leader before leading her outside with a very telling response on her lips.

"It will be neither Edmund, nor Margaret, nor myself on the Stone Table tonight, though I know I deserve it far more than they. Now, we will be able to say that He has given everything for us."

Thanks for reading and please review!


	11. Dances With Death

Thanks princess emma of narnia, Noel Ardnek, and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!

A.N. Just so you know, I don't know if anyone is really sensitive to this or anything, but I just wanted to give a heads up that there is a near suicide in this chapter with Daisy and her gun. It doesn't even go off, but she does contemplate it for a minute or so. :) I imagine it being the beginning of their 'tests'.

Josh Groban's "So She Dances" is for scenes 4-5 and Ingrid Michaelson's "Die Alone" is for scene 6…

Dances With Death

"How is she taking it?"

Aida breathed a silent laugh at the most obvious question the Lion could have asked as He exited His tent and approached the woman as, ghost-like, she watched the temporary homes of the slumbering troops from the rise.

"I haven't been around the girl long enough to translate her facial reactions very accurately, especially since she hasn't said a word to me since the Witch left…" She couldn't help but cringe when even thinking about that…woman. "…but I can tell you that she's handling it far more efficiently than I."

"You can't blame yourself, Aida."

"How so? I betrayed you. How simpler can it be?"

"All this would have come to pass, even without your involvement. Your presence has been one of my few comforts."

"…and one of your many burdens. Why was I created if all I do is make trouble for everyone around me?"

"Only with trouble is true good allowed to flower. Without you, Kathryn would likely have lost her way during her first visit to Narnia."

"Without me, plenty of things wouldn't have happened…such as the Witch discovering from whence the children would come."

He sighed.

"Aida, you are only one being. You can't hold a whole world of worry on your shoulders. Leave that to me."

She laughed a second time.

"Wonderful wordplay."

"Thank you," He answered simply, turning to leave for His fateful journey. "You should get some rest. It is the owls' job to watch the night."

Aida bit her lip, unable to retain the light mood.

"Another thing about Kathryn: she is in the side grotto with the cherry tree. I believe her way of dealing with difficult circumstances is to proceed with something as far from it as possible."

"That is something she will face in her own time. What of Margaret?"

"Kate couldn't keep her trap shut and practically went straight to the older one. Margaret is very similar to me, I must say."

"In the sense of taking the guilt of the world on your shoulders?"

She simply shrugged in assent.

As Aslan strode away, the Falcon's face tightened from emotional strain. It was in her nature to be logical, analytical, and perceptive, but her avian traits did not always keep her as removed as she would have often liked. Her 'fall', as she called it, was because of emotion, because she had been too proud and angry to think with any actual reason all those years ago. Bloody emotion had bound her to a choice she hadn't really wanted, an oath she was bound to honor, and a job she had brought upon herself. She had served the enemy, returned with a promise to respect her King's decisions, and repented by vowing to protect two girls who could barely get over their own physical boundaries.

With a huff, Aida stormed off to her tent nearby. All would be well, in the end.

* * *

"Are you asleep?"

Edmund stared at the dark roof of the tent as he waited for his brother's response. Several moments of silence passed before the other boy grumbled,

"No…you?"

"Duh."

A mirthless laugh escaped from the older sibling.

"Don't you think Kate and Daisy were acting a bit odd earlier?"

Ed flipped onto his side to discover Peter looking straight back at him from his own cushioned bed.

"I thought I saw them leave their tent when we were heading to bed. They seemed to be arguing."

"Not surprising," Peter snorted.

The younger lad chuckled in remembrance.

"You weren't there when I first ran into Margie. It was amazing how argumentative she was."

A strange look crossed Pete's face, along with a sly grin.

"You don't happen to be twitter-pated, do you, dear brother?"

"Of course not!" Ed countered, sitting up. "And since when do you know something like that?" He paused for effect. "Ah, I see." He knew for certain that Peter was rolling his eyes as he got up the rest of the way and walked out of the tent.

* * *

Lucy, unable to sleep, gasped as she saw the shadow of what could have only been Aslan pass by their tent.

"Susan!" she whispered, catching her sister's attention just in time for the older sibling to see the last of the Lion's figure.

With a quick exchange of glances, the girls grabbed their cloaks and slipped through the tent flap in silent pursuit of Aslan as He led them deeper and deeper into the forest. The dead silence would have been frightening, but the Creature's presence somehow didn't allow for such a thing.

A few minutes later, they took cover behind a bush as He stopped.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" the Cat questioned tiredly.

"We couldn't sleep," Lucy guiltily explained.

After the girls had removed themselves from the bush and positioned themselves on either side of the Lion, Susan put in,

"Please, Aslan…couldn't we come with you?"

He sighed before replying.

"I would be glad of the company tonight."

Though at first uncertainly, the little girl found comfort in burying her hand in His mane.

* * *

The darkness, to Peter, was so enveloping that he could barely see the ground five steps in front of him. Despite this, he kept walking. Edmund's teasing and prodding conversation, combined with Aslan's talk, had sent his mind spinning to a point where a walk was necessary to sort out his confusion.

_"And allow you I shall."_

_With a smile, the woman turned to walk down the hill towards the camp. Peter had no idea what he had just witnessed or what Aslan had just given in to, but it seemed very much like the time Edmund 'accidently' fell down, scraped his knee, and got the same cookie he had been denied before as a comfort._

_The Lion solemnly followed Aida with his eyes as she disappeared beyond a tent before making one last statement._

"_Emotion is a great gift…probably one of the greatest… There are times when it can be cherished and used…but there are also times when it can be used against you and everything you care about. People always seem to want most what they either cannot have or must wait for a long time. With that wait, much temptation appears. Those who overcome it are rewarded with what they have fought for…those who fail fall into despair. I can only have faith that you are all up to the challenge."_

_Before Peter could inquire as to what He meant, a horn sounded not far off._

He hadn't known what the Lion meant then and he still had no clue what 'challenge' they had to face. Whatever it was, even the Great Cat was concerned.

A dim light ahead caught the boy's attention as he neared one of the forest grottoes along the creek near the encampment. At the water's edge stood a well-sized, blossoming cherry tree, the rose pink petals of which were swirling from their base in the light breeze. He later realized that it was one of the tree spirit people. His ears made the mistake of hearing an ethereal sort of music on the wind as it teased the trees, which he again realized was no mistake. On the other side of the bubbling creek, in a small grassy meadow, was Kathryn.

The top layer of her clothing, her shoes, and her weapons had been set aside, leaving only the whitish sleeveless dress and, apparently, light blue leggings, and a small lantern sat on the ground. Her fluid movements perfectly in time with the whispering music gave Peter the realization that she was dancing…a strange thing to be doing at this time. For some odd reason which even he did not know, perhaps because he simply didn't want to disturb her peace, he stopped short of the grotto's edge, staying in the shadows beside a large boulder. Since he had seen the girl again upon his arrival in the camp, Peter had felt a strange connection with her. Perhaps it had been there before and it had only presented itself at that point…but there was an odd link between them. They had both suffered because of the War, felt the need to hide their inner sorrows, and been somewhat renewed by the magical world. It was as if fate had placed them there for a reason. Aslan's talk of waiting for what one desired and their supposed testing came to mind.

Kathryn's perfectly balanced grace captivated him, especially as she bent backwards, practically folding herself in half, one hand touching the ground as a backup support and the other reaching elegantly toward the sky. She seemed to be dancing with the petals surrounding her (the tree spirit). Like all of them, Narnia seemed to have claimed her with its beauty and wisdom; only, in her case, it seemed to do more than just claim her. Kate seemed to have been given a new life in Narnia. It was somehow part of her soul. It had always been. That was why she had seemed so empty before. She had always belonged there. But what did that mean for the rest of them?

"Do you intend to stand there all night?"

Peter jumped slightly in a sudden realization that Kate had stopped, as had the music, and was kneeling down beside the water, reaching to splash her face with it.

"Sorry," the boy muttered, removing himself from the darkness to sit cross-legged on the other side of the creek. "I…couldn't sleep."

"So, you are human." He nearly gaped. His expression must have been quite priceless as she allowed herself a quiet giggle. "Honestly, I was quite worried; boy of prophecy, Knight of Narnia, and soon to be King... It definitely holds potential for getting a big head."

"I'm not the only one in prophecy."

"But I am not fated to be a monarch," she smartly shot back.

"Aslan showed great concern for you and your cousin. You obviously have something big in store for you."

She shrugged, copying his cross-legged position.

"Who knows? Why did you come here, though? There are plenty of other nice spots here."

Again he had been caught off guard.

"I just…" He gave up and settled on staring at the water. He couldn't exactly tell her how captivated he had been by her grace.

* * *

"It is time," Aslan announced, causing the girls to remove their hands from His soft mane. "From now on, I must go on alone. Thank you, Susan; thank you, Lucy…and farewell."

After a moment, the sisters continued following Him at a distance anyway, especially upon hearing a strange noise beyond the trees.

* * *

The cold metal sent shivers down her spine as she brushed it fondly against her cheek. Gone were the days of normality. Her parents were dead, her cousin was in her perfect haven, and she herself was a traitor, whatever anyone said.

_The kitchen was completely empty aside from the solitary girl, who spread a thin layer of homemade butter on the still-warm bread Mrs. Macready had recently finished baking as she sat at the cooking table on a tall stool._

_She stopped in mid-bite, tears coming to her eyes. This meal reminded her so much of her early morning breakfasts at home: only she and her father up with the sun just showing itself through the thin curtains. While Daisy prepared the toast, he would set aside his morning paper to let in the brilliant light, looking back at her with a warm smile._

"_There he is," her father would say, pointing to the glowing orb in the sky. "He came out just to brighten your day."_

_She always smiled back, sometimes laughing at the terrible logic._

_Now, all she had were the salty tears falling on her bread._

_SSSSS_

"_The question I should be asking is: How did a fourteen-year-old girl come by a nice weapon like that?"_

_The rebellious side in Margaret jumped forward and her eyes narrowed to a point her family was quite familiar with. If not for her bath and solitary breakfast that morning, she would have been in quite the foul mood indeed._

_"Why should I tell you?"_

_The Professor, not flustered at all, simply sat in a nearby lounge chair, just as casual as before._

_"You are under my roof and my protection. I think that merits a few answers."_

_She sighed. While she liked this fellow so far, she wasn't sure if she trusted him enough. Fondly, she caressed the polished wooden handle._

_"It's…It __was__…my father's. He carried one with him, but he always kept this one in his bedside table. I remember him sitting in bed polishing it while Mama read to us."_

_"What kind is it?"_

_It was strange how interested, yet neutral, he seemed to be._

_"It's an Enfield Number Two Mark One revolver."_

_"You took it for memories…and security?" She nodded. Just as abruptly as it had begun, the mood ended with his standing._

Memories, yes; security, yes; but, mainly, it was brought on by the instant bout of depression following her parents' deaths. While Kate, having already lost her mother before that terrible occurrence which had taken the bulk of their remaining family, leaving only Grandma Polly…Kate seemed to take everything in stride. She had hardly cried for the loss of her father, saying something about having no more time for mourning after the other parent's demise, and took her sweet time packing her things and exchanging memorable tales with their newly-arrived relative. Daisy, on the other hand, never taking anything one step at a time, had instantly stashed her father's gun along with her book on theoretical mathematics. She knew she wouldn't be able to stand the idea of having basically no family left for long. Kate coped; Daisy always fixed things…even if it wasn't right.

She had known that she wouldn't be able to handle the loss of her parents long, but then that was combined with the guilt of how badly she had treated her cousin; how she had disbelieved her about Narnia and betrayed everyone by telling the White Witch everything she knew about Kate and the Pevensies. Then, she discovered from Kate that Aslan was taking her and Edmund's place in the supposed sacrifice thing. It was all too much.

With confidence she hadn't felt in days, Margaret cocked her father's gun. The beauty that could such evil was about to do her the greatest favor ever. A shaky breath and she pointed it at her head.

It would all end here and now.

Her finger moved for the trigger.

Slowly, she began to press down on the lever.

"Margie?"

Daisy nearly leaped out of her skin. The gun flew from her hand and landed safely in the moss nearby, while she herself jerked around to face the boy leaning against the tree behind her.

"Ed! How did you find me?" she demanded hoarsely.

He shifted his eyes uncertainly, then had the nerve to purse his lips as if it was the most obvious thing in the world!

"I couldn't sleep and went on a walk in the woods. You were sobbing loud enough to catch a mule's attention."

The girl bitterly put a hand to her face, just realizing that she had actually been crying.

"What do you want?"

His bark of a laugh was almost too much humiliation to bear in one night. Again, the gun seemed tempting.

"What do I want? Well, as a start, I'd like to know what a teenage girl is doing by herself in the woods in the middle of the night with a gun to her own head."

She bit her lip.

"I don't deserve to live. After all I've done…I hurt everyone I ever cared about, Ed! My parents are dead! I'm the reason Kate is haunted by that nickname: Thai. I called her that at school to impress the other girls…and it stuck. I was always jealous of her, for some reason I can't even remember, since she wasn't even popular, thanks to me. I practically jumped into the Witch's lap with everything I knew about you guys. And now, because of me, the most remarkable Creature I have ever met is going to die."

Edmund looked slightly taken aback by the last few words, but it didn't seem to faze him for long.

"Margie, you aren't the only one who's been horrible to people. The past year, I've been nothing but a pain and a burden to my family. My father's in the War. And…I was even more eager than you to help the Witch, believe it or not. Whatever Aslan traded to save you was just as much because of me. Letting His sacrifice be for nothing is not really much of a thank you. Running won't change what has happened. All we can do is recover what we can."

The boy's words rolled around in Daisy's mind until she came to the conclusion that he was right. Aslan's sacrifice would be for naught if she turned tail and ran from what she feared. Now that she thought of it, what was she thinking?

Slowly, she nodded her head.

"Kate would kill me if did something that stupid." As he picked up the discarded weapon, Ed smirked obviously. "What?"

"The safety wasn't even off."

* * *

As they looked on in horror, Susan was asking herself Lucy's previous question: "Why doesn't He fight back?" The frightening scene only grew worse as the grotesque creatures sliced at the Lion's kingly mane and tied the rope about Him with cruel tightness. When they dragged Him up the stairs onto the Stone Table, they caught His eye…a sorrowful eye indeed. Susan comfortingly held her disgusted sibling.

"Tonight," the Witch loudly proclaimed from her spot on the Table, causing an instant silence from the raucous crowd, "the Deep Magic will be appeased; but tomorrow, we will take Narnia…forever!" In the returned roar of the mob, Jadis bent down, clearly speaking to Aslan, though she was too quiet to be heard so far away. A moment later, the Witch stood, a wicked knife in her hand. "In that knowledge, despair…and die!" With that final word, she dramatically plunged the dagger into Aslan's selfless heart. "The Great Cat…is dead!"

A sorrow she had never felt before washed over Susan Pevensie while the army cheered ferociously and a hint of anger formed when Lucy buried her head sobbing into her arms. Disbelief also formed. How could their apparent answer for all questions suddenly be gone? There was also bitterness…towards the Witch for her cruelty and for their ill luck of stumbling upon this cursed land in the first place! That bitterness was only smothered as she looked down at Lucy: Lucy of never-ending faith, belief, and innocence. Why couldn't everyone be like her little sister? Why couldn't she?

Susan scowled at the howling rabble. She couldn't think beyond that terrible noise.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	12. Courage or the Fool?

Thanks princess emma of narnia, Noel Ardnek, and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!

Yay! Some action! Haha.

Sarah Brightman's "Eden" is with scenes 7-…

Courage or the Fool?

It took what seemed like hours for the crowd to dissipate; however, when it finally did, the girls slowly emerged from their hiding place and mournfully approached the body of the Great Lion. Even though they had only known Him for a sparingly short time, they already knew Him to be a caring, gentle, self-sacrificing Leader. Tears flooded down their faces as they sat on the Table beside Him, though Lucy suddenly seemed to have an epiphany and reached for her cordial.

"It's too late," Susan objected, staying her sibling's hand. "He's gone. I'm sure He knew what He was doing." For a few moments following, they bent over the Lion's body to shed the threatening tears…until they were interrupted by a peculiar squeaking noise. Susan jumped back in horror as she realized there were mice all over Aslan. "Get away!" she cried. "Get away, all of you!"

"No…look," Lucy countered softly, bringing the older girl to realize that the rodents were actually chewing through the cruel bindings. With a mutual understanding, they assisted by pulling the ropes from His muzzle.

We have to tell the others."

"We can't just leave Him here!" Lucy argued, pulling at Su's heartstrings.

"Lucy, there's no time. They need to know."

Suddenly, the younger girl's eyes lit up with an idea as she whispered,

"…the trees."

* * *

"How long have you been fencing, anyway?"

"I took lessons twice a week for two years."

The boy laughed, pleased.

"We should spar, tomorrow." Margie only nodded in response, picking at the moss in the same spot she had almost killed herself about an hour before. Edmund knit his eyebrows together in concern. "What's wrong?"

She sighed sadly prior to answering.

"I just…I feel so stupid trying to pull off something like that. Thanks for stopping me."

"You would have stopped yourself when the gun didn't go off."

Her thin lips became even thinner with doubt.

"I'm not so sure."

"Well, I am," the boy snapped shortly. "You're just going to have to trust me."

Before Margaret could insist on her misgivings, the floating leaves of the nearby ancient oak tree formed into what appeared to be an old man.

"Forgive the intrusion, my prince…my lady, but I have brought grave news from the princesses. Aslan has been slain by the White Witch on the Stone Table."

Ed's jaw dropped, even as the despairing figure of the dryad was dispersed by the breeze; however, his companion, while troubled, merely said,

"So, He actually went through with it and left us leaderless."

"You knew and didn't tell anyone?" the boy replied, distressed.

"Kate made me promise."

"Kate…wh…but…" Such stuttering was all he could manage until they resolved to bring the bad news back to the still-slumbering camp a good mile off.

* * *

"What do you think this 'help' is that Aslan needs you for?" Peter inquired, still sitting beside the creek across from Kathryn.

The girl shrugged in her new, mysterious way, got up, skipped over to a nearby bush, and returned with a generous bunch of darkly colored berries, which she gladly shared.

"I don't know. Maybe we'll be representatives to other lands or simply messengers…or we'll somehow keep Narnia together when He's…"

She abruptly cut off, obviously holding something back.

"What…when He's…what?"

"I come with tidings of grave news," a soft voice said. Peter shot to his feet, sword pointed defensively, before realizing that it was the spirit of the cherry tree. The dryad held her 'hands' up soothingly. "Fear not, my prince. I come with a message from your sisters."

"Aslan is dead," Kate broke in as she stared into the water, attracting the attentions of both Peter and the dryad.

"I am afraid so."

Seeing that the 'prince's' attention was no longer on her, the tree spirit disappeared.

"You knew?" he growled, suddenly a little…angry, to say the least, still standing with his sword. He didn't wait for a response from the still downwards-focused Kathryn. "That's how He stopped the Witch from taking Ed and Daisy, isn't it? Why didn't you tell me? We could have…"

"…what?" she interrupted, her voice shaking. Through his frustration, Peter hadn't noticed, though, as she turned her face to look at him, he saw that there were tears silently streaming down her face. "We could have what? We could have gone charging to the Stone Table and single-handedly slaughtered the army that was probably there celebrating their victory, could we? Or, better yet, we could have tied Him in His tent and told the Witch He was busy!" With a wrath that made Peter's anger look pitiful, the girl stood so he wasn't towering over her. "I could have gone screaming that the sky was falling or gone to Him begging. I could have done a lot of things, King Peter!" Her normally soft, soothing voice had taken on a husky quality and grated on his ears. "I could have tried to stop Him…but it was His choice, not mine or yours! I think He has…had a little more experience than any of us." She took a breath to compose herself, straightening her skirt and wiping away the tears. "Now, shall we continue yelling or go figure out what our next move should be?"

* * *

As Peter emerged from Aslan's tent and moved toward the table where the map was spread, he scowled at Kathryn, who bit her lip uncertainly. Was it really wise for her to open up to him about Aslan's 'tests'? So far the only reactions she had received were confused inquiries, fuming outbursts, and, most recently, cold glares. He wouldn't even speak to her; that left a strange, sinking feeling in her stomach she had never felt before…peculiar… What made her ever so slightly miffed was that Daisy had apparently also come out with her knowledge to Edmund; instead of grudging glances like his brother, the younger boy kept smiling at Margaret and occasionally giving her arm an encouraging squeeze in passing.

"It's true; He's gone," Peter stated, shooting another freezing glance over his shoulder at the dark-haired girl.

"Then, you'll have to lead us," Ed stated, leaning on the table. "There's a whole army out there waiting to follow you."

"I can't."

"Aslan believed you could…and so do I."

In the moment of silence following, Kathryn hesitantly approached their new leader and put a trembling hand on his shoulder. His scowling eyes softened when he looked into her hopeful ones.

"As do I," she whispered.

As Peter placed a hand over the girl's and began studying the map, Oreius said,

"The Witch's armies are nearing, Sire. What are your orders?"

* * *

The main Army of Aslan was positioned at the edge of a massive field, with Peter, Kathryn, and Oreius on a small rise at the front (Peter on a unicorn and Kate on a great white mare), while the archers were on the cliff behind them, with Edmund and Daisy in the front.

Kate, who was wearing her compliment of knives, sword, and armguards, plus a well-fitting, shin-length, big-sleeved midnight blue dress and a black, hard leather corset vest, reached her gloved hand to soothingly scratch her gallant steed on the neck.

"Why aren't you with the archers?" Peter growled from beside her.

The grey and brown falcon sitting on the horn of Kate's saddle gave a slight croak which could have been a laugh. The lady shrugged her shoulders during her reply.

"I don't have a bow."

"You could have gotten one easily. Besides, you're hardly dressed for battle. A bit of leather won't protect you from an enemy's steel."

She pointedly looked at his enveloping and, frankly, awkward metal encasement.

"This just feels right. Aslan will protect me."

"Aslan's dead," he stated bitterly. Kate locked eyes with the falcon, wondering if it would be all right to share the information Aida had just given an hour prior: that Aslan wouldn't be dead for long. "What's with the bird?" Peter added, obviously wanting to switch subjects.

"She wanted to come along."

"Uh-huh…remind me again why you're down here…?"

"The sooner I get into the battle, the sooner I'll come out."

He grunted at the clear incorrectness of the statement, but dropped it as a gryphon landed a few feet away, reporting,

"They come, Your Highness, in numbers and weapons far greater than our own."

"Numbers do not win a battle," Oreius resolved stonily.

"No," Peter replied, "…but I bet they help." His worry was amplified by the appearance of the Witch's army. Even Kathryn's confidence flickered significantly with the sight of the frightening number. She wasn't ready for a battle…or even for this world! It didn't matter anymore that she felt a part of it; she was officially scared.

The slaughter had already begun with the shooting down of most of the rock-dropping flyers and bird-form Aida was visibly cringing at her fellows' difficulty when the boy spoke again. Arrows flew over their heads from their archers.

"Still sure Aslan will protect you?"

She looked at him, wetting her lips, realizing that she had been holding the reigns with a death grip and staring with ever-widening eyes at the opponents. Quickly looking away from his piercing eyes upon getting that strange flutter in her stomach, she said through barred teeth,

"I don't have much of a choice now, do I? If I'm supposed to help you as King, I might as well get in some practice, now."

Peter only shook his head before looking to the centaur.

"Are you with me?"

"To the death," was the reply.

Kate shook her head in turn. Why was everyone so obsessed with death? She was jerked from her thoughts at the sound of singing metal as her companions drew their swords. With relative naturalness, she copied their movement, praying for the strength to follow through with this fool fight, and waited for the start.

"For Narnia…and for Aslan!"

…and the charge began.

Eventually, during the race, the V-shaped charge straightened into a line, the leading centaurs pointed their spears forward, and the Cats plunged in front.

Seconds seemed like hours; however, it all flashed forward as the masses collided. Aida had long flown from her perch, Kate had lost sight of Peter, and nothing seemed to exist except the smell of blood and sweat, the sounds of the metal, the charging, and the dying, and the feeling of her inexperienced blade slipping through steel and flesh. The only thought was of survival; nothing else mattered…or could matter. It was only block, parry, stab, slice…and count those whose lives she stole. The madness seemed to engulf her as she fell from her horse avoiding a spear.

* * *

Lucy reluctantly opened her eyes to discover in the morning light that Aslan's death hadn't just been a terrible dream and stiffly sat up as Susan rose and came around to face the younger girl, saying,

"We should go."

"I'm so cold," was the weak response. Susan helped her down from the Table and led her away with an arm over her shoulders. Before they went down the steps of the rock platform, Lucy looked back one last time at the still form of the Great Cat.

An involuntary squeak of surprise escaped her, however, as an abrupt quake tossed them to their knees, accompanied by an ominous cracking sound. When they looked back, they were met by a shock: the Stone Table was split in two and Aslan was simply…gone!

"Susan!" she cried.

"What have they done?" the older sibling whispered.

Both girls held their breath and, in fact, Lucy had shivers running up and down her spine when a bright yellow appeared between the far stone pillars, as did something else.

"Aslan!" both children exclaimed, running around the broken rock to meet and embrace the laughing Lion.

"But we saw the knife…the Witch!" Susan disbelievingly said, backing away slightly to face Aslan. There wasn't even any evidence of the shaved mane.

"If the Witch knew the true meaning of sacrifice," He replied kindly, looking at the carvings in the rock, "she might have interpreted the Deep Magic differently: that when a willing victim who has committed no treachery is killed in a traitor's stead, the Stone Table will crack and even death itself will turn backwards."

"We sent the word that you were dead. Peter and Edmund would have gone to war."

Lucy drew her knife, saying,

"We have to help them."

"We will," He said, "but not alone. Now, climb on my back. We have a long ways to go and little time to get there…and you might want to cover your ears."

The sisters barely had time to comply before He let out a blasting roar, which was probably heard for miles.

* * *

When the flame arrow failed to slow the Witch and Peter gave the signal to fall back, Mr. Beaver exclaimed,

"That's the signal! Come on!"

With a hasty glance at a grimly grinning Margie, Ed trotted with his archers to the rocks and waited for the Witch's army to fall into their trap. Sure enough, both forces soon came squeezing into the small area, giving him the opportunity to have his troops efficiently fire upon the enemy.

Again, he glanced at Daisy, this time with a cringe. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to talk her out of her choice of attire. It looked, honestly, very worthy with the two swords, bow and arrows, armguards, and greaves, but then he took into account the sleeveless, brown leather top, rawhide boots, and heavy rawhide trousers. What girls would do for style…

With an evil glint in her eyes, she suddenly charged down the hill to join the remainder of their army. Aida, who had arrived with them soon after the beginning of the battle, stiffened for a moment before also running off…in the opposite direction.

"Margie…Aida!" he cried, exasperated. "Where are you going?"

The odd woman turned back for a split second, replying with her husky voice,

"There's something I have to do."

"What could you possibly…"

The words were lost as he caught sight of Peter falling from his steed; then, he saw him cry out in protest as Oreius and a Rhinoceros charged at the oncoming followers of the Witch in his defense. While all other Narnians fled, they plowed through the foe's overwhelming numbers, killing their general in the process. He watched in horror as Oreius fell upon Jadis herself and was almost instantly turned to stone by her wand, while the brave Rhino fell to other weapons.

As Edmund quickly scanned his surroundings, he caught sight of Kate and instantly ran over to the nearby rise, lower than the one he had been occupying. The girl stood perfectly still as she stared at the oncoming forces.

"Kate, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Though there were a few cuts visible through the girl's dress, she vaguely shook her head, as if in a trance, and whispered,

"I dreamt this would happen. They're all dying and I can't stop it."

At that, Ed loudly clapped his hands together right in front of her nose, instantly grabbing her full attention.

"Snap out of it, Kate! Peter needs us. Pull yourself together and help or you might as well join the Witch."

That definitely worked. With a sudden stubborn glare, Kathryn flicked her idle sword to point directly at his nose before stalking back down the hill. Unfortunately, his pep talk didn't have quite the desired effect. She was walking right towards the oncoming army.

* * *

With a gasp, Lucy suddenly ran through the maze of chilled statues to stop in front of one in particular. The figure's face was the very embodiment of horror. Just as Susan put a comforting arm around her little sister's shoulders, Aslan approached and breathed in the faun's face. Within but a few seconds, the stone became skin and hair and the thawed creature fell forward against the girls, who graciously put him back on his feet…hooves.

"Susan," Lucy laughed, "this is…"

"Mr. Tumnus!" she finished happily, joining the younger sibling in embracing the friend. Aslan was nearly finished reawakening the surrounding Narnians and turning from thawing a giant…well, Giant…when He turned back towards the main gate, saying,

"I see you were successful."

Susan gaped upon seeing Aida as she approached them with her gray garb utterly dyed with crimson evidence of a fight she had recently left. The Fox who had saved the Pevensies from the pursuing Wolves before was walking alongside her.

"Lucky for Mr. Fox," the battle-worn woman began with a contrasting grin, "Jadis only turned him to stone rather than actually killing him. I flew as fast as I could, Majesty, when I heard you roar. If not for this creature's uncanny size, I could have flown him back here and saved at least a quarter of an hour."

"It was well-worth the delay. I don't know how long it will take my fur to settle after you tried clawing it off in your hurry," Mr. Fox growled back to her before bowing to Aslan and the girls. Susan didn't quite understand the whole flying and clawing scenario, but she was completely baffled when Aida's touch de-stoned a Lioness close at hand. The resurrected creature, upon seeing the battle-maiden, cried out in fright and instantly fled; its savior sadly watched the departure.

"Come," Aslan said with a mix of solemnity and lightheartedness, "let's search the castle. Others may still be trapped inside and Peter will need all the help he can get."

Though Lucy and Tumnus eagerly followed, Susan stayed behind visually facing off the hawkish lady.

"Your Majesty," Aida noted, barely nodding her head in acknowledgement and never taking her eyes from the future Queen's.

"Why did that Cat run?" The question was perhaps a little blunt, but with Aida's such peculiar talk, behavior, and knowledge, answers were lacking so far.

She sighed and broke eye contact, touching a squirrel which had been missed near a small boulder; instead of fleeing, it skittered up her arm and around her neck, produced tickled giggles, prior to jumping off and scampering after the other Animals.

"I was the one who captured her for the Witch." Susan took a step back with apprehension. "I was among Aslan's first creations…the last of the first, to be more specific. He granted me many unusual gifts and gave me the duty of watching for Jadis' return after He drove her away. He told me that He would never leave me…that I would always have His help. I'm afraid that I took it a bit literally. Though He allowed me to live in His Country for nearly eight hundred years…" Susan coughed at the prospect. "...He restored me to this land some time before the Witch's return, allowing me to advise the last kings in preparation."

"When the Witch came, Aslan did not. He didn't help as He had promised…or, rather, as I thought He had promised. Civil war broke out in Narnia as dark creatures came to Jadis' aid and our defenses fell. After years of trying and failing to retake Narnia without any help whatsoever, I grew to hate Aslan for His 'betrayal' and offered my loyalty to Jadis. When Kate discovered me only so many days ago, I had finally realized my mistakes. Getting away from Jadis had some…unfortunate repercussions. She hunted me. That chain that was around my foot when Kathryn discovered my plight kept me trapped in that tree in my avian form. I should be dead of starvation."

"I'm sorry."

Aida rejected the sympathy.

"I have chosen my penance."

* * *

Now in the middle of the fighting, Daisy cut fiercely at the attackers with her knives. At some point, she worked her way near the boys, who were in a similarly desperate position. It was strange, though, how she felt so comfortable with the bloody conflict. It was like she was built for fighting. Her stick-like figure weaved easily in and away from potentially threatening strokes and her long arms allowed a farther reach.

"Ed, there are too many of them! Go! Get out of here! Get the girls and get them home!" Peter's voice rang through the crowd and Margaret caught sight of him further up the hill, surrounded by attackers.

While Ed was apparently pulled away by Beaver, the girl eyes rested on a figure the near the older brother. He and Kate were apparently arguing through mayhem, exchanging glances of equal ferocity; nonetheless, they kept fighting side by side and the quarrel seemed to cease.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Distracted by the voice, Margaret's attention slipped just long enough for the creep she was fighting to land a punch on her jaw before she stabbed him. That commotion in turn left her barely any time to avoid being decapitated by the Witch, who had just spoken previously. "Now, now, my pet…why so hasty?" she mocked laughingly as the teenager bent her knees in preparation for another attack. The painfully obvious existence of the wand in the woman's left hand somehow slipped her mind, especially since Jadis didn't momentarily seem inclined to use it.

"You killed Aslan!"

Daisy attacked with short swords flying and was easily pushed back. The Witch was playing with her! The thought was enraging!

"He volunteered…and I couldn't exactly have turned down such an offer."

"You may have killed Him, but that won't stop us from defeating you."

"Such a silly little girl! Perhaps I'll keep you as my lapdog."

"I'd first be rock if I sat at your feet."

The smile disappeared.

"Very well."

Again, to her frustration, Daisy was caught off-guard with Jadis' flurry of strikes. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the battlefield with growing despair over their struggle…and…she remembered this exact picture from a dream.

Panicked, she hurled her dagger straight at the Witch and fled, sheathing her other sword and producing her bow to clear a path out of the madness…as irrational as that was.

_The majority of the fighters littered the ground, filling the air with a potent smell of blood in combination with the sweat of the living._ _With frantic motions, she stabbed an attacking hag in the eye with an arrow before fitting it to her bow._

Suddenly, the weapon was knocked out of her hand, followed by the rest of her being knocked to the ground. A terrifying sight stood over her, ready to finish the victim.

"This could have been avoided," the Witch stated with fake regret. "You receive what you deserve."

Jadis lifted her wand to strike and Daisy lifted her arm in vain to ward off the inevitable…but a body collided with the enemy, delaying death…sweet, quick death.

Soon, she realized that her rescuer was actually Edmund. While he had instantly destroyed the wand, he was taking quite the beating to what could only end as a disastrous outcome; it happened.

"Edmund!"

The joined voices of Daisy, Peter, and Kate cried out as the younger boy was stabbed. Peter fought harder than ever to reach the Witch, who casually strolled to confront him, Kate was held up by a flood of enemies, and Daisy crawled to Edmund…at least, until she was forced to defend the gasping boy from overwhelming forces. She was blind to everything, including Peter's climactic battle with the Witch and Kate's single desperate cry of his name as she vaguely sensed him being knocked down…everything but her need to protect Edmund. It was a strange feeling, wanting to protect someone, even if your life depended on it. She had never even felt that way about her younger cousin; yet, there it was: the need to protect someone with her life.

"Impossible!"

The Witch's single word of disbelief drew everyone's attention to the figure on the cliff. The cry of 'Aslan' emerged from more than one pair of lips, which included Margaret's.

The Lion, with a ferocious roar, leapt from the rock, toppling the Witch while a flood of Narnians swarmed the enemy, allowing enough of a breather for Daisy to gaze upon the Creature she had thought to be dead. Beyond Aslan and His final adieu to the Witch, she saw Peter still lying on the ground, stunned by the Lion's appearance. A split second later, Kathryn materialized on the scene, ripping away the sword which Jadis had stabbed into the ground to pin him down. When the younger girl ripped away part of her sleeve to wrap his arm, which was apparently sliced from sword, all her attention was focused on the young man beside her.

"It is finished," He said.

But a moment later, all of the Pevensies and Bentens were huddled around a prone Edmund (after Susan shot the evil little dwarf) and Lucy instantly used her healing cordial. At first, it seemed as though they had been too late; however, the boy quickly came back to life, instantly met by his family and friends. After embracing his brother, Peter laughingly scolded,

"When are you going to learn to do as you're told?"

Then, Lucy got an idea and ran off with her cordial. Daisy laughed with relief.

* * *

As he stood with his family, Peter noticed a pinching force on his arm and realized that Kate was still death-gripping his sleeve, despite the smile she wore. When he gently removed her small hand, the tension disappeared. Though she had seemed to have only eyes for him a moment previously as he had been staring disbelievingly at Aslan's presence, her focus all turned to Margaret, who returned the tackling hug.

Long, action-filled, with a touch of sweetness at the end. Haha. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading and please review!


	13. Duty and Love

Thanks princess emma of narnia, Noel Ardnek, and LucyOfNarnia for your reviews!

Sarah McLachlan's "Blackbird" is w/ scene 1, Leona Lewis' "Footprints in the Sand" is for scene 5, Sarah McLachlan's "Drifting" is w/ scene 6, and Loreena McKennitt's "Never-Ending Road" is with scene 7… Scene 5 is in no particular point of view.

Duty and Love

The trumpets sounded with joy as the Pevensies walked with Aslan towards the thrones at the end of the living corridor of Narnians. Their clothing was rich and fine, but soft and comfortable, unlike the dressy attire in England. When the processing group paused at the white stone stairs, Peter's gaze was solely on the elegant chair before him. The prospect of him being King of a magical land with his brother and sisters at his side was shocking, unfathomable, and glorious.

Once the siblings were standing before their respective thrones, the Beavers approached with the crowns and Tumnus presented a circlet of delicate silver to Lucy on his far left.

As this occurred, Aslan introduced her:

"To the glistening eastern sea, I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant." An elegant crown of silver was next offered to Edmund. Though the boy on Peter's right had been grinning like a fool only moments before, he accepted the crown with utmost solemnity. "To the great western woods: King Edmund the Just." Next, the golden tiara was placed on the head of Susan, who sat directly on his left. The girl was beaming with radiant grace. "To the radiant southern sun: Queen Susan the Gentle." Peter held his breath when the final declaration approached. He nearly quivered with excitement as the golden crown was lowered onto his brow, accompanied by both delight and the terrible weight of responsibility. "And to the clear northern skies: King Peter the Magnificent. Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen."

The crowd cried,

"Long live King Peter! Long live Queen Susan! Long live King Edmund! And long live Queen Lucy!"

In that moment, the High King's eyes fell upon the Bentens. Both girls were standing together at the front of the audience, smiling at the coronation scene. While Margaret wore a sleeveless gown of a layered, lace-like sand brown material which hung loosely on her shoulders with a modest neckline and clung to her waist before draping limply to her ankles, Kathryn was dressed in a deep blue, light velvet dress, the neckline of which cut severely horizontal across her chest just below her throat, meeting the sleeves that were only secured the shoulders before flowing limply down the length of her bare arms; the rest of the dress followed a similar pattern to Daisy's, though it reached her feet. Each of them had a decorative chain circling her head, Daisy's being gold with ruby droplets dangling and Kate's of silver with tiny inset sapphires. The latter quickly caught his stare.

Instead of a glare or amused quirk of the lips, he was surprised to see her deeply bow her head in perfect acknowledgement.

* * *

In the middle of sipping her punch in the joyous crowd, Queen Susan the Gentle noticed the nearby centaur standing with a strange look on his face.

"Oreius, are you quite all right?" she queried, looking to where his stare led. He looked somewhere between queasy and elated: the most amount of emotion she had ever seen with him. About twenty feet away, talking to a group of dwarves, was a female centaur with tanned skin, dark, curly hair, and a hardened, but sweet, face. Susan couldn't help but laugh a little as the general replied,

"I am fine, Your Majesty. Thank you for asking."

"Nonsense!" she cried with another kind chuckle. "You're far from fine. You are smitten." The centaur looked down at her with a look as if she had proclaimed him a coward. "Just go talk to her."

With the look he gave, she was momentarily afraid that she had somehow offended him; however, he soon strode towards the distant lady…if stiffly. Suddenly feeling a little queasy herself from the suffocating number surrounding her, Susan took her punch, skirted around a bunch of dancing fauns, and slipped through a side door. A library sounded very appealing…now, for finding it.

* * *

Edmund, having dismissed the stable boy, grabbed another leaf of straw for Philip, spread it, grabbed a brush, and began sweeping away at the Horse's shiny coat.

"I think you and the little lady will make a nice couple one day."

Ed barked a laugh, ignoring the dust collecting on his fine clothes.

"Who could you possibly be talking about, Philip?"

"The little fighting flower whose life you saved during the battle: that is who I am talking about."

The boy rolled his eyes.

"Remind me again in about ten years, long face."

The Animal snorted in humorous annoyance.

* * *

Lucy raced onto the ocean-facing balcony upon seeing Aslan walking away down the beach with Margaret and Kate. When she realized that He was too far to call, her tear-threatening eyes suddenly found the fine details of the railing rather interesting. He didn't even say goodbye.

"Don't worry. We'll see Him again," Mr. Tumnus said, standing behind her.

"When?"

"In time," he answered, moving to her side. "One day, He'll be here…and, the next, He won't. But, you mustn't press Him. After all, He's not a tame Lion."

"No…but He is good."

Seeing that the little Queen's spirits had been lifted slightly, the faun retrieved from his person the hankie she had given him previously.

"Here… you need it more than I do."

As she took the kerchief, his hand comfortingly went onto hers, and they looked back at the sunset to where they had seen Aslan before.

He was gone.

* * *

"Woah! What just happened?" Daisy objected when the rock she leaning against disappeared, sending her stumbling. Kate chortled with a hand covering her mouth in a vain attempt to hide her mirth.

"I have transported us about three miles from Cair Paravel," the Lion responded, continuing to lead them along the beach. "I needed to speak to you without the possibility of prying ears."

"What is it?"

"It is time that I revealed my challenge."

"Ooh, goody! I love challenges!" the older girl giggled childishly before realizing how ridiculous she sounded. "Sorry…"

"The tests, the help…what is it?" Kathryn asked, cautiously studying the hem of her sleeve.

Aslan gave the two ladies a significant look prior to speaking again.

"There is a task I wish you to accomplish. It will require much sacrifice and hardship for both of you, but you have proven yourselves worthy. I would like for the two of you to be the guardians of Narnia, to see that no one stumbles upon this land who is not meant to and to keep it safe from internal destruction."

The cousins gaped. All composure gained since their arrival and adventures in Narnia melted away into shock. The idea of having such responsibility, to have the fate of an entire world on their shoulders, was unfathomable! Though the excitement of fighting and defending honor was thrilling for a time, having that weight as such a commitment took away much of the glamour. They had dreams, desires, and futures which depended on a mind free from a duty like that.

Margie had ideas for inventions and an incredible yearning to travel the world…Earth…to have tea with famous people, go to America, France, and India, and ride in ships, airplanes, and trains for hundreds of miles with no evidence of civilization in sight. She wanted to watch and critique renowned opera singers, see Broadway in New York, walk through the great Coliseum in Rome, and debate with the great thinkers. Meeting Professor Kirke had opened a whole new world of potential to her.

Kate had unpretentious and fewer expectations in life. She loved dancing. Her dreams consisted of that and a quiet country home where she could stick her nose in a book, ride a horse through fields and forest, tend a garden, maybe do some charity work, and just enjoy the simple things in life when not spreading her wings on the stage performing a ballet.

Despite their incredibly varying ideals of life, both girls' plans did not even come close to including what Aslan requested of them. Only Daisy, however, had the nerve to protest even the slightest.

"But…what about England…our lives there? There, we have…"

"…what?" the Lion interrupted kindly. "Cars, smoke, cities, art, literature, easy lives, and everyone trying to trample his neighbor in the pursuit of a better life without strife…all that in your world… I am not saying that you cannot return. There will come a day when your hearts will decide where you truly belong…and there you will remain until the end of this world. If you choose Earth, Narnia will summon you when you are needed here. At the end of this world, you will have one final chance to join me in my Country. The choice is yours."

At least a minute passed…maybe five.

They still hadn't decided, but Aslan waited patiently, standing before them as the sun sank lower and lower.

Finally, Kate knelt, her jaw set with grim determination, though her eyes showed a newfound peace in her decision.

"I pledge myself to the protection of Narnia and its people," was her simple statement.

As the Lion nodded, Daisy swooped to her knees, copying the oath, but adding 'until its end' for good measure. Again, Aslan nodded, this time breathing His warm, enveloping breeze over them and speaking.

"Just as a King or Queen of Narnia remains so wherever he or she goes, so will you always be Narnia's protectors until your time is over. Though many obstacles will stand in your way, choices will present themselves, and you will face countless trials, I will always be there to give you strength. As servants and defenders of this land, I declare you Margaret and Kathryn: Warders of Narnia."

"When He says that He will 'be there', He means in more of a roundabout fashion than literally jumping to rescue you when you say 'boo' more often than not. Don't forget that," Aida stated, cutting through the momentous mood. "I was hunting…needed to get out of the crowd…"

"Aida has volunteered to help you two in any way she can. She'll see that you make it safely back to castle. Farewell."

"Good…" Daisy began, turning back to Him, but He was just gone. "…bye?"

"He's not a tame Lion," Kate giggled, scratching the neck of the falcon balancing on her small shoulder. She giggled even more when the older girl did a double take.

"So that's where Aida disappears to."

"She doesn't disappear. She blends in."

Laughing, the girls started the trek back through the sand to their new life. The Pevensies would definitely be surprised at having their new Warders.

* * *

Margie laughed elatedly as they flew through the forest, leaping over logs and creeks after the infamous White Stag, which would supposedly grant any wish they desired, with her cloak sweeping out behind her. Over fourteen years, she had become a beauty of ages. Though her build was still stick-like and overall shapeless, she sported teasing hazel eyes, shapely lips, wavy, medium brown, shoulder-length hair, and a kind heart. Honestly, the twenty-eight-year-old, blooming woman did not really care about chasing Stags or making history. The limit of her primary attention encompassed about two feet of the space around her. Suddenly, the Horse slowed to a halt, allowed the other three steeds to race on ahead out of sight.

"Are you all right there, Philip?" King Edmund asked, concerned.

"Am I so terribly heavy?" Margaret queried, also worried for the aging horse.

"No, my Lady, you are as light as a feather," Philip denied. "Just not as young as I used to be."

"Well, Ed and I will not mind if you wish to rest a little while," she replied warmly, leaning forward with her arms still around the young man to kiss his cheek.

"Oh, not again!" a musical voice cried exasperatingly. "I told you not to both ride that poor Horse. You have two days before your wedding. Will you stop acting as if you won't see each other ever again?"

The backtracking Queen Susan was soon joined by the other two monarchs of fourteen years.

"Just catching my breath," Edmund defended, even as Daisy gave him another peck.

"What did he say, Susan?" Lucy cheekily questioned, dancing her mare closer.

"You girls stay at the castle," Su mocked. "I'll go get the Stag myself. Too bad Kate didn't accompany us. She would have been able to think of the perfect wish for the Stag."

"Why did she not come, again?" Peter offered.

Lucy giggled and exchanged mischievous glances with the other girls before leading the reply.

"She didn't want King Peter the Magnificent to see how bad a shot she is."

"Nonsense! She had business that required her attention."

"She told me that she had to finish a book and Su that she was helping with Margaret's wedding dress."

"Kathryn is a marvelous adviser and wonderful friend…nothing more."

"And it was just chance that you were discussing the size of her finger and favorite stone with Mr. Tumnus last month?"

The High King's face turned a royal shade of pink…then he dismounted.

"What is this?"

"Don't change the subject, Peter," Susan scolded.

"No, look," the youngest girl said, pointing to the glowing lamppost in the middle of the clearing and initiating a general dismounting.

"It seems like a dream."

"Or a dream of a dream…Spare Oom," noted Lucy with her usual odd way of thinking, trotting off into the trees.

"Not again," grumbled Peter, despite running after her with the rest of the fools.

"Come on!"

"She's always running off," Ed moaned, grasping Margaret's hand.

"These aren't branches," the Magnificent King pointed out.

"They're coats," the eldest added before they all began stumbling and shoving each other. Daisy had half a mind to go back, but something deep within her pulled her forward and the grip on her fiancé's hand tightened.

With a grunt, she fell forward on top of Edmund, rolling off as soon as she saw the change which had occurred: they were all children again. With a look of utter confusion as he stared into her eyes, Ed peeled his hand away from hers. Daisy looked down at her itchy English clothes with distain. She already missed the soft, natural fabrics of Narnia.

The door opened, revealing Professor Kirke. With the familiar glint in his eyes, the genius bent down, saying,

"There you are. Now, what were you children doing in the wardrobe?"

Peter took the lead, if uncertainly,

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

"Try me."

The whole tale took about an hour to tell, prompting their movement into the kitchen for tea and hot chocolate. Soon after they finished the lengthy chat, Mrs. Macready entered, pouring herself some tea and leaning against the stove with a sigh.

"Those tourists are going to be the death of me," she groaned.

Staring into her drink and avoiding Edmund's eyes, Daisy brought her worry to light.

"Mrs. Macready, have you seen Kate?"

"Now who, for the love of everything under the sun, is Kate?" the woman grumbled, stalking out with her drink. Seeing the girl's devastation, the Professor spoke up again.

"Perhaps, because she remained, only we friends of Narnia can remember her."

Glumly, she left her tea and trotted up to Kirke's lab, where he soon discovered her tinkering with a possibly active conductor of sorts.

"She didn't come back," the girl stated with a mild sniffle.

"Apparently, she belongs there. You'll see her again."

"Fourteen years passed for us. Ed and I were getting married in two days."

"Give it time. Remain friends and have patience. A love like that will last forever."

* * *

When Fall came, everything always seemed to turn to gold. As the sunlight scattered itself in crisp, cool brilliancy of daybreak, even the castle towering above the quiet practicing field sparkled. In what had quickly become known as the Golden Age, few things troubled the Narnian hearts. The land and people prospered. Knowledge overflowed with a tidal wave of discoveries once prevented by the White Witch's reign. The citizens of Narnia loved their Kings and Queens. The Warders were held in high respect, though the tongues of servants did tend to wag about matchmaking concerning the two young women. Everything, overall, was in perfect harmony and the service of the Warders had so far been limited to negotiating trade with long-forgotten countries, plus a few things hardly worthy of mention.

"Are you sure, Ma'am? They should have been back last night," the servant worried.

"Don't fret so much," Kathryn chided, hissing when her arrow missed the target by a foot…again. "When you are chasing a prize like the White Stag, you can never really put a time limit. As long as Margaret gets back in time for her wedding, I won't panic too much."

"I was expecting your wedding at least two years before now."

Kate paused.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, half the castle knows that High King Peter is in love with ya; the other half knows that you're in love with him. That's where I get my assumptions, Ma'am, if ya don't mind me tellin' ya. The two of you always seem so comfortable together. Riding, reading, planning…it's all in the details."

"Thank you," the Warder politely said through barred teeth.

As the servant departed, the woman set her bow aside and walked toward the open fields, brushing the radiant grass with her fingertips. Kathryn had turned into lovely woman, though she herself avoided taking too much notice…except when around Peter…King Peter… Her slightly Asian appearance had melded to give her a somewhat exotic appearance; her misty blue eyes and dark, penciled eyebrows gave her a birdlike air; her lips were shapely, nose thin and angular, nearly straight, raven black hair cascaded down to her waist; a modestly rounded figure with long, thin fingers and a somewhat broad chest and shoulders added to her regal look. Kings and princes always seemed unable to decide whether to pursue the Gentle Queen Susan or the more accessible, apparently permanently single, Warder; however, the forced indecision had so far protected both women from romantic dangers, not that any far-off diplomat would have much luck with Kathryn as her heart had always belonged to Narnia and its High King.

A whinny resounded from the nearby forest when Kathryn was nearly a mile from Cair Paravel. Several gallant mounts emerged a moment later, racing with foam at their mouths and sweat on their sides. When they seemed to catch sight of the wandering lady in lavender, the horses changed course and thundered towards her. As they neared, several figures from the practice area could be seen running toward the girl as well, probably to ensure her safety.

Kathryn, however, was very sure of her safety, having recognized the horses of the Kings and Queens.

"What happened? Where are they?" she demanded, staring with widened eyes at Peter's empty saddle, trying desperately to maintain composure.

"They followed Queen Lucy into the trees, saying something about a 'Spare Oom'," Philip explained, snorting in an effort to catch his breath and stamping his feet in frustration. Kathryn almost copied his angered movements. "We heard a cry and went after them, but they were nowhere to be found. It wasn't until nearly dawn that we finally gave up the search. I'm sorry, my Lady."

The investigating centaurs, including General Oreius and his young son, Cadar, had arrived on the scene huffing just in time to hear the necessary bits.

"What are your orders, Lady Warder?" the seasoned centaur queried.

Kathryn nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden realization that, without the Kings and Queens, she was next in line for command. Standing as still as stone for a moment, overcome with the thought of losing Peter, her cousin, and the other monarchs, she finally moved, jumping swiftly into Philip's saddle.

"They have to be out there somewhere," the woman growled with her sultry voice.

"Kathryn," Oreius insisted, laying a hand on Philip's reigns and staring her straight in the eyes, "with the Kings and Queens gone, you are our leader. If they are truly lost, you cannot run after them to possibly face the same fate." Her heart seemed to stop beating with the creature's unarguable, terrible truths. "I will send scouts to scour the country side for any sign of them."

The Warder shook her head as her searching eyes noted that the circling falcon overhead began speeding off in the direction from whence the horses had come.

"No, Aida can search much more efficiently by herself than a hundred sets of feet tramping through the forest. We will wait for her report. Meanwhile, I need to see those reports on the Animals still loyal to Jadis in the North. When our monarchs return, I want to have some good news waiting."

Four days passed before news of Aida's return reached them.

Pacing along the steps in the nearly empty throne room, occasionally glancing at the grand seats above her and yanking her braided hair in anticipation, Kathryn waited for her friend to come with whatever news there was, drawing the concerned stare of Oreius, who patiently stood to the side with arms folded. The only other people present were Mr. Tumnus and Cadar. An oppressive air hung over the usually glorious hall.

After what seemed like hours, a falcon came gliding in through ocean-facing balcony and, upon reaching the waiting audience, magically transformed into a tall woman with dusty brown hair, hawkish golden eyes, and a somewhat bold nose in a brown riding skirt and close-fitting jacket.

Kathryn held her breath as the returned scout scanned the group with unreadable eyes before settling on other female. Her mouth opened to allow her husky voice to report their fate.

"They are nowhere to found, neither is there evidence of a struggle or horses or carts other than their own which could have taken them. Their tracks simply stop in the brush as if they disappeared into thin air."

The picture tickled the back of Kathryn's mind as if from a dream; however, her only registered thoughts were of how Narnia had mysteriously lost its Kings, Queens, and other Warder and she had lost the closest things to family memory could offer. The names Benten, Thai, London, and Professor Kirke and images of a mansion in the country, a strict dancing matron, and a painted horse flickered across her memory and were instantly dismissed as fancies of her subconscious. All this girl knew was Narnia, Aslan, sweet grass, soft clothes, sparkling waters, massive forests, and magnificent creatures.

In the reality of Narnia, the Warder sank down onto the bottom step, the shadow of the thrones seeming to envelop her. Shock prevented the threatening tears and the tears prevented her from shouting curses upon the High King for abandoning her into oblivion…even anger toward Aslan. She had never felt so alone and the responsibility of protecting a nation was promptly dropped onto her already heavy shoulders.

"Your orders, my Lady?" Oreius quietly questioned, breaking the terrifying silence.

The Warder's cold eyes met his worried calmness, his son's confused, struggling control, Tumnus' quivering terror, and Aida's eternal composure. The latter offered her some reassurance that not all was completely lost. Her lips parted and, for a moment, she was not sure if her throat would allow the words to pass.

"We should tell them. Narnia should know…that the Golden Age is over."

Her world forever came crashing down.

* * *

Emerging from his room in hope of snatching a cup of tea from the kitchen, Digory caught sight of the youngest Pevensie ascending the stairs, though all the children had gone to bed over an hour previously. Tying his robe, the professor followed the child up the staircase, through the hall, and to the room with the Wardrobe. He smiled sympathetically as Lucy opened the door of the closet and peeked into the coats.

"I don't think you'll get back in that way," he said quietly from the doorway, halting her movement into the depths of the Wardrobe. The candle she was holding displayed the confusion on her youthful face. "You see, I've already tried."

"Will we ever go back?" she whispered in return, reluctantly backing away from the wooden box.

"I expect so; probably when you least expect it. What's to say: keep your eyes open," the old man with a child's heart stated, leading her back out. "Why don't you come down to the kitchen for some hot chocolate? I think you will be interested to hear of my own adventures in Narnia."

Well, The Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe is completed, but this story is far from over and I have barely begun to unfold Kate and Daisy's characters. I hope you have enjoyed this so far as much as I have. It can only get better! :) Thank you for reading and please review!


	14. Months and Millennia

Thanks princess emma of narnia, LucyOfNarnia, and Noel Ardnek for your reviews!

So, I am going to mess with the timeline a bit. Hehe. We shall say that _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_ occurred in Fall of 1940, while _Prince Caspian_ (not including the first few scenes) is in the late Spring of 1942, about a year and a half later. I'm cheating and saying that the children are just about to return home from their boarding schools in London.

'Alanna's' name is a nod to Alan Alda. His witticisms on MASH have brightened many dark days for me.

Lisbeth Scott's "Where" is for scenes 1-2 (and it might run in to the 3rd scene) and Petula Clark's "Downtown" is with scenes 5-6…

Months and Millennia

Delicate, pale hands caressed the beautiful Lion carving on the hilt of the unused sword. As they moved to touch the chilled metal of the shining shield beside the weapon, a tear splashed down onto the polished surface and the woman fell instantly to wiping it away with her silken sleeve. Those sacred items, as well as others, were held in four gaping chests on a long table directly behind the dais which supported the four empty thrones. Behind each chest in turn was an elegant statue carved by the finest artists in Narnia.

The great hall had been silent for far too long. Besides servants who constantly passed in and out with their cleaning duties, few entered the throne room. These included those paying their rare respects and tutors with their charges supplementing the tales of the Golden Age with a view of the grand space. Other than to occasionally yell at the servants for not keeping it absolutely pristine, the Warder herself almost never came here. This day was an exception. Exactly one hundred years had passed (one hundred torturous years!) since the disappearance of the Kings and Queens. She had lost her family, her dearest friends, and the man she loved all in one fell swoop. The worst part was: she hadn't even aged a day. She was cursed to live on, though she had lost the desire many seasons ago.

"My Lady…" The elegant woman snapped around with a set jaw, only to discover a sedate, incredibly ancient faun with a crooked wooden cane and a neatly trimmed white beard leaning against Peter's seat above her. "General Cadar just returned with reports concerning the hostile movements of the Carlomen in the south."

Kathryn's eyes softened at the presence of the kindly creature.

"After all these years, my dear Mr. Tumnus, I would have expected you to retire or die off by now like everyone else," she said with a hushed tone.

The faun scoffed, tapping his cane hard against the marble floor.

"I will ignore that comment, young miss. Without me, this country would fall apart at the seams. You won't get rid of me too soon."

"I do not doubt it." His humor subsided as his gaze fell upon the open containers. "Haven't those sat around collecting dust long enough?"

The woman's eyes settled on the far wall in a dark corner.

"Tumnus, do you recall High King Peter once suggesting that we carve a vault of sorts from the throne room into the space below?"

"Aye, my Lady. If memory and vision does not fail me, he never got around to actually issuing the command. The masons were busy rebuilding."

"Well," she mused, "while we deal with this business of the Carlomen, don't you think the masons should have something productive to keep their minds occupied? These dusty articles can be stored down there and the throne room can be put to use once more."

* * *

A somewhat short girl with wavy, reddish brown hair, big bluish-grey eyes, and a small nose hefted her medium-sized suitcase as she approached the large desk lined with five commanding women. One of them looked up, managing to look down her nose at the same time, and said curtly,

"Welcome to the Braston London Boarding School for girls. Our rules here include being on time for all classes, lights out by 9:30, wearing only your uniform during the day both inside and outside of the school, and absolutely no boys are allowed at any time on school grounds." The strict tone was recovered with a tight smile. "The rest will be discussed during the general introduction this evening. Your name?"

The girl managed not to gulp. Any battle or uncover job seemed easy in comparison to this.

"Alanna Alda," she managed, her alto voice an octave higher than usual. She had never imagined something like this being part of the job description.

* * *

The kindly gray-haired lady wrung her hands slightly in confused wonder and her wrinkled-crowned eyes narrowed, trying to make out what she was seeing before her as she stood in the doorway to the science classroom at the girls' boarding school.

"You see," the pruning, blond-haired teacher began condescendingly, with hands folded, "Margaret is far beyond her classmates in math, science, and literature; however, her…enthusiasm…has ended with the detriment of the other students' grades."

"How so?" Polly queried, returning a smile from Daisy within the classroom as the child continued monitoring a small metal box.

"For days, she just sits and works on a single project; then, about once a month, she runs all of the girls out of the room, screaming about some potentially dangerous material. Today, she was babbling about 'time slowing'!"

Polly's interest skyrocketed as the teacher's anxiety hit the roof.

"Daisy, what is this?"

"Well," the granddaughter replied secretively, "there's a circuitous path of real time winding through the temporal field, but I think you'll want to wait for me to shut it off before I give you a hug, Aunt Polly. I don't know what would happen if you got caught."

"Temporal field, so…a maze?"

The professor gasped.

"…theoretically. It could do wonders in the worlds of science and warfare."

With one last urging glance, the tutor departed, Daisy managed to turn her machine off, and Polly cautiously entered the room, though her eyes danced with anticipation.

"Margaret, how would you like to come with me at the end of next summer to America? I received an invitation from an old friend at Stanford University. I'm sure he would love to work with you."

Daisy's eyes bulged out of her head.

"Really?"

"Just you and me for three weeks." The girl bit her lip, obviously troubled. "What's wrong, dear?"

She looked around the corner to be sure no one was watching.

"It's just…I always wanted to go to America. It's always been a dream of mine, but…Kate had dreams too. Who knows what has happened to her! Her hopes of dancing and living quietly in the country are gone. How can I enjoy my dreams if she can't have hers?"

The other friend of Narnia smiled sympathetically.

"Aslan will always watch over her. I'm sure she's quite all right."

* * *

"My Lady, they're coming!"

"What do you mean?"

"An army…huge! Siege equipment…archers…massive numbers!"

"What? How?"

"They came out of nowhere! Our scouts didn't see them until they were already here."

"How long?"

"They're about four miles away. They come from the both the north…and the sea."

The woman gripped the railing to keep her hands from shaking, though her eyes held as much emotion as ice.

"How many?"

"Five thousand at least, my Lady."

"Five thousand…throughout this whole invasion, we haven't seen more than five hundred at a time! How did so many…?" At a loss for words, she bent her head down in numb despair, dark hair tumbling over her shoulders to hide an ageless face. For the past year, Telmarines had slowly slipped into Narnia from the ocean, penetrating deeper and deeper each week and always escaping whatever traps were set for them. The ancient Warder had led several armies to apprehend them, but they still either disappeared or defeated the Narnians; however, the enemy numbers had always been relatively small. Cair Paravel wasn't ready for a strike of this magnitude! Most of the troops were scattered across the countryside chasing after the guerilla attackers. Never before had the Telmarines come so close, always seeming to avoid the great castle in their efforts. How could they have been so blind?

She had always been highly regarded for her strategizing abilities. This was the first time she had failed so miserably. The Telmarines were unlike any other foe they had come across. These were deceitful, slippery, and had no sense of truth or honor. They had broken more than one truce and had made the inhabitants of even the most secure town or cave in Narnia fear their own beds in horror of the possibility of a stealthy soldier slitting their throats in the middle of the night. They seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Though Narnia had never before encountered these villains in its history, it was obvious that this whole ordeal had been carefully planned to continually surprise and butcher their victims.

"My Lady, if it is any consolation, no one could have predicted that the Telmarines would have done something this drastic."

She looked back at the young general behind her looking so eager to please. Unfortunately, such fervor wouldn't win a war.

"No, Sintan, I should have seen this coming. This was their plan all along. Protecting this castle should have been my first priority."

"Your duty is to protect Narnia, my Lady."

She just shook her head.

"Ready what troops we have. We must make this a battle to remember. I have served High King Peter and Queen Swanwhite, helped defeat the northern giants and the Carlomen infiltrators, and Narnia has always remained safe under my watch. I will not have my reputation tarnished by these brigands!"

* * *

Alanna scowled at the snooty woman whose back presently faced her. Several months after checking into the boarding school, she was finally checking out for the summer break! Now she knew why the other children at the beginning of the year were constantly whining for school to be over: it was…well, there was no word of any use that wouldn't taint the mind of any Earthling, even the well-versed.

"Well," the shrew started in a nasally voice with her back still turned. Alanna almost stuck her tongue out at the witch before catching herself. She was more dignified than that! "…while you seemed to struggle in mathematics and chemistry, you excelled in history and physical education." With the naming of that last class, the prune looked over her shoulder doubtfully at the girl's slim build, making it even harder for her to keep a lid on her emotions. "You kept your grades above a B minus, so…I suppose you don't have to take summer classes." Suddenly smiling kindly, the lady turned back and handed the teenager some papers she didn't even bother to look at as she stuffed them into her bag, not even blinking when the sound of ripping accompanied the move. "Enjoy your break. If you need an extra night to pack your things or for your parents to pick you up…"

She hauled her suitcase into view. The woman probably had a pretty image of the student desperately tossing her things into the bag between the last class and checkout time.

"I'm leaving this evening on the train."

Alanna silently snarled when the manager's face significantly brightened upon seeing the next girl in line, Daisy Benten, with whom Lanna had developed a wonderful friendship, along with the two Pevensie girls. In fact, she had spent the Christmas break with both families in the Pevensie household in Finchley.

"Lanna!" Susan called, tossing her beautiful dark hair to the side as she hefted her shoulder bag, standing next to her little sister, Lucy, near the building exit. Once Daisy joined them, the group would go to the train station two blocks away and meet the boys, Peter and Edmund, whose last classes had ended the day before, for the trip to their homes in Finchley. Soon after the deaths of Daisy's parents, her guardian and grandmother, 'Aunt' Polly, moved to Finchley, which was quite convenient. In their mutual hurry, all girls were still in their school uniforms, which consisted of a woolen knee-high gray skirt, a white long-sleeved oxford blouse, a maroon, long-sleeved blazer, black laced shoes, and a horrendously ugly dark blue and yellow tie.

Once Margaret joined them, they went across the street to a cheap restaurant for an early dinner.

* * *

With an hour before their train departure, the ladies nonchalantly strolled down the street, chatting and laughing lightheartedly; however, Susan was, as usual, musing to herself in the process.

She herself hadn't changed much beyond becoming more elegant, mature, and worldly, though she wouldn't quite admit the latter. Her wavy, deep brown hair reached past her shoulders, she had gained about an inch in height, and she had just turned sixteen in May. Narnia had gone to the back of her mind as she doubted they would ever go back. What were the chances of landing in a magical land twice?

Lucy was just as innocent as ever, if a bit more mature and worldly-wise; additionally, she too had gained some grace with age as she had turned eleven in November. She had actually gained several inches to her height and had grown her medium-brown hair also to past the shoulders.

Daisy had likewise gained a little hair, height, and maturity, having turned fifteen last August. She was a genius in anything mathematical or scientific and, when not experimenting, was always writing to Edmund in the other school only a few blocks away. Her chestnut-brown hair seemed to frizz out of any style she put it into that wasn't plainly down, despite it being not very significantly curled.

Their latest cohort since the beginning of the school year, Alanna Alda, was a brownish-red-haired, big-eyed fourteen-year-old who could be sweet as butter one minute and dangerously fuming the next. Despite her lightening-like personality, all of the friends of Narnia liked her particularly well.

The boys, as of Christmas, were additionally looking older and more mature, Edmund being thirteen as of October and Peter was sixteen as of the last July.

What somewhat made the eldest girl uneasy was that they all seemed to have changed and grown more than she. Susan was just as stubborn and commanding as ever.

As two police cars and a runaway vehicle passed by the group on the street, she overheard Alanna mutter something absolutely shocking:

"The Lion save us! These automobiles are going to be the death of humanity."

Of course, the other girl turned crimson upon Su's honest question.

"The what save us?" Only a Narnian or friend of Narnia would use an exclamation like that. "Lanna…did you just say 'the Lion save us'?" The other girls were also taking great interest in pinning down this peculiar outburst.

"No!" Despite the assurance, her denial came out strangled and almost desperate. "I said 'the Lord save us'. And what business is it of yours? Anyway, we should quit dawdling. There's a…a dress shop I wanted to stop by. Lucy, do you want to come with me?"

Delighted and apparently distracted, the youngest child raced off with Lanna, leaving the other two behind looking at each other very skeptically.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	15. Everything Changes

Thanks princess emma of narnia and LucyOfNarnia for your reviews!

KT Tunstall's "Other Side of the World" is w/ scene 2 and Norah Jones' "Painter Song" is for scene 6…

Everything Changes

Finished with his lesson in the library, the prince stopped just short of the door, pressing his ear closer to hear the conversation without.

"Sire, what are you doing?" the tutor hissed, picking up his books from the large round table.

"Shh!"

"What in Aslan's name are you doing, boy?"

"It's Uncle and that fat-faced general talking about the commotion last night," the seventeen-year-old whispered, followed by Miraz's harsh growl.

"When you told me you had found the witch, I told you to bring her in quietly, not wake the whole castle. Couldn't you have knocked her unconscious rather than drag her in kicking and screaming! I thought even someone like her would have a little more dignity than to come scratching and punching, but I suppose they're all the same!"

"Sire, I hit her with the hilt of my own sword and she came right back fifteen minutes later. If I had hit any harder, I would have killed her!"

"You hit a woman?" another voice, smaller than the rest, piped up, only to be silenced by Miraz.

"Better to kill her than send the palace into an uproar! Where is the witch, now?"

"In the dungeon; she won't eat, drink, talk, or hardly even blink!" the general replied.

"Better to save her voice for screaming out answers when we question her about other fugitives."

By that time, the voices were fading away and Caspian was eagerly opening the door when Doctor Cornelius snapped,

"What are you thinking? If your uncle finds you…"

"He won't. I just want to see if I can get her to talk."

"That woman's back wouldn't break under a thousand-pound boulder if all they were asking about was the weather. Do you even know who they were talking about? She's the Warder of Narnia…stuff of legends! She disappeared about three hundred years ago and just last night was found by our patrols. Katarina won't say a word unless absolutely necessary and unless she means it."

"Katarina..." he mused, finding the name fascinatingly pleasant on his tongue. "Then, it should be a very interesting conversation."

With that, the teenager slipped out the door, leaving the tutor shaking his head in wonder, and stealthily walked down towards the dungeon, a murky, cold, damp place.

* * *

"Your Highness," a guard at the bottom of the stairs said, blocking the door which led to the cells, "Lord Miraz commanded that no one is to be allowed here."

"Is that so?" the prince queried, raising his eyebrows. "Is Lord Miraz your prince?"

"No, Your Highness…no offence meant," the man babbled.

Caspian was almost surprised when the fumbling man opened the door for him. Most of the people were loyal to his uncle anymore. Astonishingly, nearly all of the ten-foot square cells lining one side of the hall were empty…with the exception of the last one. In the back of the compartment sat a woman, leaning against the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs, and her head tilted back with eyes staring straight at him. She couldn't have been more than twenty-five years old, but there was a strange agelessness about her. Her white, flowing, and deeply swooping dress was covered in dust and even blood. Though there was no evidence whatsoever of the screaming Miraz and his general were whining about, a large black bruise and a line of blood on her temple was not quite sufficiently hidden by her mussed, black hair. While chains dangled from her wrist, it seemed almost as if he was the one a prisoner.

"I see my uncle's soldiers accommodated you," he stated, shivering inwardly at how his voice seemed to be sucked in by the space while keeping an outward calm, "…Katarina." A storm appeared to rage in those icy eyes as the woman looked down her nose at him, still silent. "How did you suddenly seem to come out of the woodwork so suddenly? No one has heard of or from you since…"

"…since your people invaded my country, slaughtered men, women, and children even as they slept in their beds, destroyed the great castle of Cair Paravel with no quarter, sent all creatures into hiding, and turned Narnia into a land of fear and suppression?" a soft voice, like the coo of an angry dove, emitted from the Warder, joined by a chilling, white smile. "I was supposing that you were my torturer…but you are merely a boy. Even the Telmarines could not be that low, though it would not surprise me. Did your king expect me to break because you were handsome? I admit the dark eyes, dark hair with a slight wave to the nape of your neck, and obviously muscled body does give you a slight appeal, but does he think me an animal?"

Fire smoldered in the prince's eyes as he crouched near the bars.

"Miraz is not the King. He is merely a caretaker of the throne until I am ready to succeed my father."

With her eyes practically glowing in their coldness, Katarina slowly crawled forward as far as the chains would allow, leaving her face only inches from his.

"I saw that…man…when I was brought here. I looked into his eyes and saw nothing but greed and deceit. If he meant to hand the throne to you, he would have done so already. With him in the lead, I can only imagine that I was brought to watch Narnia's final days."

Caspian worked his jaw, avoiding the woman's drawing stare.

"My teacher told me of you. You are a Warder, chosen to protect Narnia at all costs. If you left to let it suffer, why come back at all when you seem to think that it's all over?"

"It was not by choice," she growled, returning to the shadows.

"What, then?"

A sigh escaped her…a sigh of despair, defeat, and…boredom.

"I was awakened."

"What? What do you mean by that?" But, she would say no more. "I am rightfully the successor to Narnia's throne. If Miraz means to steal it from me, he couldn't anyway…could he?"

The chatty girl of a moment previously was back to cold stares and silence. He didn't know whether to call her crazy or simply battle-worn. Either way, her thoughts were miles away.

Back in the library, the boy slammed the door, catching the prompt attention of Cornelius, who sat in one of the cushioned chairs reading one of the dusty volumes.

"I told you not to go," the short old man growled, slamming the book shut.

"You talked to her!" the young man snapped, planting his fists on the desk. "She said she was 'awakened', so apparently she hasn't been around Narnia enough lately to know what's going on. The only way she could have was that you told her, Doctor. For being a supposed legend, she seemed more like a grouchy old nag with eternal youth on her face. I felt like a fly she was trying to crush."

"Legends tend to do that," the professor chirped congenially, hands folded over an obtuse belly. "How could I have passed up the opportunity? She seemed to take an instant liking to me…and apparently you have a little fascination for her as well."

"But how did you…?"

"Your uncle's guards are quite gullible."

"They're going to torture her." For some reason, he felt a strange urge to protect this peculiar stranger.

"Aye…and a waste it is…but we'll figure something out."

* * *

Lucy grinned from ear to ear at her new brown leather gloves as she emerged from the small dress shop. Alanna smiled wistfully while stuffing an entire new set of clothes into her bag.

"Why the sudden urge to shop?" the young girl queried abruptly. "Besides, I don't think those will fit. They're too big."

Lanna paused.

"Do you ever the feeling that you might need something…just in case?"

Confused, Lucy shook her head.

"We should catch up with Su and Daisy. They'll be waiting at the station."

With a vicious grin, the older girl replied,

"Race you!"

* * *

Three days following his strange encounter with the 'Warder', Caspian cried out in surprise as he was awakened…at least, he tried with a hand tightly covering his mouth. The prince instantly calmed upon seeing his cloaked professor at his bedside in the darkness and removed the hand.

"Five more minutes..."

"We won't be watching the stars tonight, my Prince," the little old man replied with a hushed voice. "Come. We must hurry!"

Confused but complying, the young man tolerated being dragged out of bed and towards his…closet.

"Professor, what's going on?"

"Your aunt has given birth…to a son." Cornelius opened the closet, dug past the clothes, and opened a hidden door in back. "Come!"

With the realization that his throne was truly being stolen from him, Caspian dove into the wardrobe, staying to watch through the cracked door for a moment. After watching his uncle's soldiers enter the room and send a volley of arrows into the canopied bed he had been sleeping in only moments before, he took the safe course of pursuing the doctor into the armory to fetch a sword, vest, and cloak, as he hadn't had the chance to do so in his room. As he raced to his already-saddled horse in the stables, another equine figure coming from the shadows caught the boy's attention.

"Katarina," he breathed, staring at the slumped woman; however, she only had eyes for Cornelius, who stood between their horses.

"Professor," she whispered. Despite the obviously weak state of her body, the Warder's chilling eyes remained as they had been before: cold and empty. "…there is no reason to risk your life for me. I am not who you think I am."

"You are Katarina, Warder of Narnia, Servant of Aslan, and Protector of the Kings and Queens. There can be only one you," Cornelius defended, gruffly turning to the prince and ignoring the woman's defiant sniff. "You must make for the woods."

"The woods!" he objected.

"They won't follow you there." With that, he presented a small wrapped item. "It has taken me years to find this. Do not use it, except at your greatest need." Katarina seemed to be boring holes into the article with her eyes.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"I dearly hope so, my Prince. There is so much more I meant to tell you. Everything you know is about to change." A cry resounded in the night. "Now, go!"

Closely followed by the Warder, Caspian rode hard through the courtyard, over the drawbridge, and into the wide open fields surrounding the Telmarine castle with soldiers in close pursuit while a shout and fireworks arose from the fortress in celebration of the new infant prince. Despite her condition, Katarina kept up with the boy easily in the desperate flight toward the forest, her steely eyes longingly focusing on the ominous trees. Following several torturous minutes, they crashed into the underbrush, though the haunted place didn't hinder the pursuers for long, broke into another, smaller open area, laboriously waded through the river, which slowed down many of the followers, and charged back into the trees, Katarina taking the lead. At that moment, Caspian risked looking back; however, when he returned his focus forward, his head abruptly encountered a tree branch, knocking him to the ground, his foot catching in the stirrup as he tumbled. He got his foot loose and his steed kept galloping, then…silence.

When he finally sat up to take in the frightful surroundings, he was horrified to see two odd figures emerge from an earthen doorway nearby. The apparent dwarf came at him with a knife, saying,

"He's seen us!" Panicked, the prince froze, glancing hopefully at the horn, the package Cornelius had given, on the ground as the dwarf approached; however, the little man was distracted by the sound of a horse approaching and ran towards the intruders, ordering "Take care of him."

With that, the other dwarf came forward with his own blade, stopping short and crying out when Caspian grabbed the horn and blew it. It didn't pause in knocking the boy in the head with his hilt.

The last thing he was aware of was Katarina looking down at him from her horse with a bared blade, shaking her head.

* * *

Susan and Daisy were idly reading magazines from an outdoor stand near the underground train station entrance when a teenage boy, apparently from the other boarding school according to his clothes, arrived at the stand and made a show of looking at a magazine while staring at Su. He wasn't very attractive, but neither was he ugly; just…plain.

"You go to Braston," he blurted out, obviously nervous.

"That's right," the girl replied, keeping her eyes on the page talking about some college professor in America.

"I go to Henden House…across the road." A couple of roads, more like it. "I've seen you…" That caught her attention. Daisy, on her other side, was paying a little too close attention to an article on petunia gardening to be oblivious of the tormenting conversation. "…sitting by yourself."

The reminder of the bad side of her 'popularity' stung a little.

"Yes, well…I prefer to be left alone."

She turned away a little, hoping he would get the message. Daisy's cough was a little too fake.

"Me too!" She rolled her eyes at that. Relentless didn't quite cover it. "W...what's your name?"

She tightly smiled.

"Phyllis."

"Susan!" Lucy's voice called as the younger sibling rushed through the crowd towards her, breaking her cover. "We went down to the station when you weren't where we were meeting and…you'd better come quick!"

With one last look at the boy and meeting Daisy's worried eyes, Susan rushed across the street with her companions and into the bustling station. Her ears were instantly met by the noise of shouting and cheering. The adjacent hall Lucy led them to was packed full of students from both boarding schools; the sounds of grunting, scuffling, and flesh hitting flesh was nearly drowned by the crowd as the girls push their way to the front where Edmund and Lanna were standing.

In the center of the chaos were Peter, floppy hair a mess, and two others boys fighting. The look the girl gave when her older brother's eyes found her was one of incredible disappointment. The boy hadn't been the same since their little magical jaunt over a year ago. He still thought he was High King Peter the Magnificent rather than the reality of Peter Pevensie the English school boy. Even if he just looked at a girl, he would curse himself for being disloyal to Kate and spend weeks growling about not deserving her and leaving her behind, despite the fact that Kate probably wouldn't wait for him since they hadn't even begun a relationship of any kind and Peter's dashing looks seemed to draw women from the woodwork.

It was obvious that Peter was losing as the other combatants punched him in the stomach before hurling him against the wall.

"Edmund!" Lucy cried as the other brother shoved past the crowd and tackled one of the other fighting boys.

Ed wasn't the same either. It was probably a good thing in his case. Instead of a selfish little pig of a year and a half ago, he had grown to be courteous, polite, kind, brave, and all other things that would make him into a wonderful man. Daisy, when she could, practically never stopped talking about how his heart hadn't changed a bit since Narnia, his kindness, blooming good looks, and all such things. More boys joined in against the Pevensies, throwing Peter onto the stairs and kicking him. Susan shouted as Alanna threw a sudden punch at one of the offenders, knocking him out cold, to her obvious pleasure.

Suddenly, the cluster began scattering at the sound whistles with the approach of several soldiers and the opponents were pulled apart, establishing instant peace with the adult presence. Lanna, grinning like an idiot, followed the Pevensie girls, who shook their heads in dismay while heading towards the terminal. Margaret stayed behind and approached a bloody-lipped Edmund with a worried scowl; Peter watched both scenes, wearing an obvious look of gloom.

"You're welcome," Ed's baritone voice stated as he sat down several minutes later beside his siblings, a hat covering his disheveled hair, which was a copy of Pete's style-wise. Lanna had declined an offer for the last remaining seat, apparently preferring to stand.

"I had it sorted," Peter's tenor voice growled as he rose.

"What was it, this time?" Susan asked grouchily.

"He bumped me."

"So you hit him!" the youngest exclaimed.

"No," he answered through locked teeth, "after he bumped me, he tried to make me apologize. That's when I hit him."

"Really," Su scoffed, "is it that hard to walk away?"

"I shouldn't have to! I mean, don't you ever get tired of being treated like a kid?"

"Well…we are kids," Ed put in.

"I wasn't always," the former High King declared, pacing before turning toward them again and returning to the bench. "It's been over a year. How long does He expect us to wait?"

As she bent over to respond, Susan didn't worry at all about Lanna. The girl probably only thought they were pretending…at least, that's how she treated it when not swearing by the Lion in the shadows.

"I think it's time to accept that we live here. It's no use pretending any different." Daisy's chuckle brought her attention to the oncoming boy from earlier and she earnestly leaned towards the others. "Oh, no…pretend you're talking to me."

Ed raised his eyebrows, saying,

"We are talking to you."

The Gentle one's scowl was interrupted by Lucy jumping up with a cry:

"Ow!"

"Quiet, Lu."

"Something pinched me!"

"Hey, stop pulling!" Peter said in turn, followed by Ed's objection.

"I'm not touching you!"

"Will you all just…what is that?" Susan bolted out of her seat as the train passed, but what was odd was the wind and noise…nothing common to a London train station, though she couldn't pinpoint it.

"It feels like magic," Lucy said plainly.

"Quick! Everyone, hold hands."

Strangely, Lanna didn't seem at all perturbed by the movement, calmly taking Daisy's excitedly trembling hand. The wind rose and the walls began to be torn away, revealing sun, water, and beach.

* * *

The wind died down as quickly as it had come, leaving only the cave they were in and the beach without, but Margaret still held Edmund's hand as they breathlessly strode out into the glorious light.

With Lucy in the lead, the troupe laughed and raced through the sand and into the water. Giggling, they splashed and chased each other, shedding their confining coats in the wondrous warmth. Shoes and stocking were discarded happily. Their souls flew with joy at returning to their hearts' true home.

"We did it!" Lu screamed happily, falling into the water with another laugh.

"Ed? Ed!" Daisy called, seeing the boy suddenly distracted by the cliffs, which they had until then ignored.

"Where do you suppose we are?" he queried.

"Well, where do you think?" Peter returned, standing taller and prouder than he had for some time.

"Well…I don't remember any ruins in Narnia."

That burst a bubble. All children looked up at what indeed appeared to be ruins on the hilltop.

"Where's Lanna?" Lucy suddenly asked.

Just as the question was presented, a figure emerged from the cave. A tall woman with dusky, wild hair approached the suddenly silent group as she secured her belt and replaced the dagger. She wore clean clothes which looked very much like something from England. She had a brown, heavy cotton skirt which reached her shins, black laced boots with light stockings, and a loose, tucked in, soft white cotton shirt with rolled-up long sleeves and two buttons undone.

"Sorry it took me a while," she said casually. "This bloody shirt didn't want to tuck. I think I've been overly affected by your English customs."

"Aida!" the children chorused, relieved and confused at the same time.

"Alanna, Aida…either one works."

"But you were…are…" Peter stuttered.

"…did…promise to protect the Warders. I chose to follow Margaret after Kathryn's fall."

The eldest boy looked as if someone had punched him in the stomach.

"…fall?"

A set jaw and wandering eyes told them that Aida…Alanna…would divulge no more for the moment.

"We should look for water. There should be a well in the ruins."

Suddenly becoming aware of their temporarily suppressed thirst, the others instantly agreed, though reaching the hopeful source of relief was easier said than done. The hill upon which the ruins sat was more like a mountain and, while the top itself was relatively clear, giant trees layered the steep rise in countless, crunched bunches. Eventually, however, they succeeded. The sight of the crumbling stone seemed to inspire something in them…something majestic and ancient.

Daisy blinked up at the glaring sunlight trying to puzzle out the dead, haunted silence of the place. Narnia was beautiful, peaceful, and full of life. This wasn't Narnia.

It couldn't be.

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	16. Revelations

Thanks princess emma of narnia and LucyOfNarnia for your reviews!

Revelations

"By Jove, look!" Peter exclaimed suddenly. The others rushed over to see his discovery. In looking for wood in the growing evening, the young man had stumbled upon the first sign of recent life in the entire place, what they discovered was an island. At the corner of one of the more solid walls was a fire pit which appeared to be, at most, a week old, if not more recent.

"Who do you suppose made it?" Lucy queried, looking very much older as she expertly stuck two fingers into the ashes to find that they were very fine and dry.

"Have you even thought that we might not be the only ones on this island?" Susan put in, crunching on one of the many apples from the giant grove they had discovered in the apparent courtyard.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ed scoffed. "Who, other than us, would be crazy enough to come here? It's not as if there's anything of value or interest."

"I'm only stating a logical possibility."

Margaret glared at them all, quickly tiring of the pointless guesses, despite not knowing more than any of the others.

Aida, though significantly more conversational than the Aida they had known during the Golden Age, was more withdrawn compared to the Alanna they had come to know at school, obviously because of Peter's constant pestering concerning information about Kate, which she was obviously not willing to give. Peter couldn't really have been described as pouting, but he was definitely quite glum ever since Aida had announced Kate's 'fall'. While 'fall' usually meant 'dead', none of them knew for sure what to make of the statement. The others, including Daisy, went back and forth between bliss, confusion, excitement, and fear. While it was a good assumption that they were back in Narnia, no one recognized anything, as of yet.

Suddenly breaking from her fascination over the fire pit, Susan brought into view a golden chess knight, saying,

"I found this by the well."

The little figure had lost some of its luster and one of the ruby eyes was missing, but Edmund's eyes brightened as he excitedly said,

"This looks exactly like one of the chess pieces I had."

Susan, on the other hand, didn't look pleased at all.

"Cheer up, Su," the oldest boy stated kindly, though his own eyebrows were knit in concentration.

"I can't help it," she worried. "It brought back…oh, such lovely times! And I remembered playing chess with fauns and good giants, and the mer-people singing in the sea and my beautiful horse and…and…"

Daisy stared in shock at the amount of emotion suddenly showing on the Queen's face.

"Now, it's about time we started using are brains."

"What about?" Ed returned.

"Have none of you guessed where we are?"

Daisy cut in before anyone could answer.

"I'm sure all of us have, Pete, but it couldn't possibly be Narnia! I don't recognize any of this! This could have been anyone's castle, but, from what I remember, Cair Paravel certainly didn't look anything like this when we left. If you have any idea…"

"Margie," Ed interrupted firmly, earning a solid glare until the girl realized that everyone was looking at her…and not too pleased. "Fire ahead, Peter. We're all listening."

With a nod, the High King solemnly continued.

"We are in the ruins of Cair Paravel itself."

"But, how do you make that out? Margie does have a point. This place has been ruined for ages. Look at all those big trees growing right up to the gates. Look at the very stones. Anyone can see that nobody has lived here for hundreds of years, with the exception of the one fire pit."

"I know. That is the difficulty. But let's leave that out for the moment. I want to take the points one by one." He moved to where they had piled the wood and began setting up a fire pit as he spoke, carefully placing the wood. "First point: this hall is exactly the same shape and size as the hall at Cair Paravel. Just picture a roof on this, and a colored pavement instead of grass, and tapestries on the walls, and you get our royal banqueting hall." As much as Daisy hated admitting it, the facts were true. Peter brought out his matches and continued.

"Second point: the castle well is exactly where our well was, a little to the south of the great hall; and it is exactly the same size and shape. Third point: Susan has just found one of our old chessmen, or something as like one of them as two peas. Fourth point: Don't you remember – it was the very day before the ambassadors came from the King of Calormen – don't you remember planting the orchard outside the north gate of Cair Paravel? The greatest of all the wood-people, Pomona herself, came to put good spells on it. It was those very decent little chaps the moles who did the actual digging. Can you have forgotten that funny old Lilygloves, the chief mole, leaning on his spade and saying, 'Believe me, Your Majesty, you'll be glad of these fruit trees one day.' And, by Jove, he was right!"

Lucy's excited recall was cut short by Ed's voice of doubt.

"But, Peter, this must be all rot. To begin with, we didn't plant the orchard slap up against the gate. We wouldn't have been such fools."

"No, of course not, but it has grown up to the gate since."

"And for another thing, Cair Paravel wasn't on an island."

"Yes, I've been wondering about that, but it was a…a peninsula (jolly nearly an island). Couldn't it have been made an island since our time? Somebody has dug a channel."

"But, half a moment! You keep on saying 'since our time'. But it's only a year ago since we came back from Narnia…and you want to make out that in one year castles have fallen down, and great forests have grown up, and little trees we saw planted ourselves have turned into a big old orchard, and goodness know what else. It's all impossible!"

Peter sighed as he finally got the fire going nicely.

"If only we could find some way of finding out for sure whether…"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off as he leaned his head back against the ivy-cover wall. The other companions looked at him quizzically as he made a confused grunt and his head a little harder on the wall.

"Are you trying to give yourself a concussion?" Daisy muttered.

"No," he grumbled, grabbing a stick from beside the fire and getting up. "Look." Sure enough, when the boy gave the wall a solid whack, a resounding hollow, wooden sound resulted rather than the assumed noise of solid stone. "What's this?" he mused while he and the other boy began scraping away at the moss and ivy to finally reveal a large wooden door. "Locked, of course."

"But the wood's all rotten," said Edmund. "We can pull it to bits in no time, and it will make extra firewood."

Though it took a bit longer than anticipated to yank the chunks of rotted wood from their place, they soon revealed a cold, dark opening with stone stairs leading down into the shadows.

"Now for a torch."

"Oh, can't we just look in the morning?" Susan worried.

"Cheer up, Susan. It's no good behaving like kids now that we are back in Narnia. You're a Queen here. And anyway no one could go to sleep with a mystery like this on their minds."

With that, Peter ripped a strip of cloth from his shirt, wrapped it around his stick, and lit it, though the thing caused too much smoke to be convenient, as discovered after several tries.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Ed suddenly said, presenting an electric torch from his bag, a somewhat recent present given to him and made by Daisy.

"You could have told us before."

The boy only shrugged, taking the lead in going down the stairs, with the girls in the middle and Peter taking up the rear.

* * *

Sixteen steps later, Peter caught sight of a small bowl with some powder in it, apparently used for firelight, and put one of his few remaining matches to it. The result was a series of blinding little explosions as a line of similar, connected bowls were consequently lit in turn around the relatively large room.

"You could have told us you were going to do that," Edmund growled, squinting in the brightened space and turning off his lamp; however, annoyance was promptly replaced by wonder. "I don't remember this being here."

Chests, armor, and piles of gold, silver, and all sorts of precious gems littered the floor, as if half thrown in haste, though that was not what caught their true attention. In the far wall were four little inlets. Within each of these was a three-foot statue of one of the Monarchs and a large, raised chest. Not very much dust contaminated the area due to having been sealed for who knew how long.

"I think we're in Narnia," Daisy blurted out as the Kings and Queens went to their respective cove. While Aida went to another similar spot in the wall made by the staircase, dragging Margaret along with her, Peter stood staring at his statue as his siblings giddily began digging through their own trunks, bringing forth Gifts and clothes of painful familiarity. All went silent, however, as the High King opened his own container and produced his sword Rhindon, with which he killed the Wolf so long ago.

As he unsheathed it, gazing at the inscription, he sadly whispered,

"When He bares His teeth, winter meets its death."

Lucy broke the following silence with equal horror,

"And when He shakes His mane, we shall have spring again. Mr. Tumnus and Beavers…they're all gone."

Suddenly seeing another dark corner, Peter walked into another, much smaller, oval chamber, lighting another set of lamp-bowls which revealed a long, rectangle stone box that made his stomach drop. At the far end was another inlet with a chest and a statue of a solemn woman. As if pulled by an invisible force, he went to the chest and opened it. On top of a pile of clothes and jewelry sat a small book with delicate cursive on the cover: a journal. Out of gloomy curiosity, he opened it to a random page in the middle and he instantly recognized the elegant hand.

_Aida disappeared today. Without her guidance, I am lost. Aslan has not shown His face since the Golden Age so long ago…nearly five hundred years, to be more exact. _Peter ceased to breathe. She had been alone for five hundred years… _The Golden Age is now like a dream. It is strange now to read in the library. Half of the tomes speak of the glorious time of the Kings and Queens. I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I find a partially fictitious tale of the Monarchs and the Warders. _

_Some say that the Kings and Queens sensed an approaching evil in Narnia and abandoned us, while others scatter their opinions among Susan marrying a foreign King over the seas, Lucy being summoned into the forest by Aslan and nevermore being seen, Edmund dying in a duel with one of Susan's suitors, Peter either locking himself away with all his failures or running away with Kathryn the Warder, Margaret eloping with Edmund or sneaking off to live with the Dryads and becoming a tree, and myself either tiring of a lack of attention from Peter and becoming a rogue in Calormen or the reality of staying in Cair Paravel to guide Narnia and its leaders. _

_More authors proclaim that Edmund and Margaret married and had children before their disappearance…some authors even have the gall to claim to be their descendants; others say that they were trapped in a cave and died in each other's arms at some point or another; others say that I am only Kathryn's descendant and took on her burden; still others say that I am the White Witch in disguise. _

_None mention the torment I have endured through the centuries. When I accepted the task of protecting Narnia, I never imagined that I would ever feel so alone. I did not realize that I would live the remainder of my days in despair and longing. Queen Swanwhite, the present leader of our people, is kind, strong, and beautiful, and respects my advice and position. _

_But why? Why did they abandon me? Shortly before he died, Mr. Tumnus revealed to me that King Peter was going to propose to me... So, why did they leave? They left just when peace reigned and allowed it to plunge back into the battle between light and darkness. Sometimes I fear that the darkness is winning, if not within Narnia than rather within my heart. What I once saw as beautiful is only a façade ready to be ripped away to reveal the true terrors beneath. I cannot sleep without seeing his face. It has not improved since I ordered the creation of the treasure chamber beneath the throne room a few hundred years ago. I once imagined that he would never leave me. But I have learned something because of that: good things never last. _

Longing to find out what had happened to the gentle, feisty Warder, Peter flipped to the last entry.

_They are coming. I do not know how I could have been so foolish. Soon after the last King's disappearance, Telmarines, people from somewhere beyond the sea, trickled into Narnia. At first, I only assumed them to be simple criminals who were shipwrecked and were taking advantage of their circumstances; however, they kept coming. Their numbers increased each day. They attacked our scouts and ambushed anyone, whether they had a weapon or not. Their only goal is to kill and take over. Without mercy, like a cancer, they slowly continued to pick us off. _

_By the time I realized that this could not be solved by mere diplomacy and small forces to scoop up these foreigners, there were more of them than I could have possibly imagined. When I went onto that battlefield, I instantly knew that this war was lost. After that failure, they continued their guerilla warfare; however, they never even approached Cair Paravel…until now. The forces I battled with the last time are approaching with even more added to their number from the north. Ships are coming from the ocean… According to General Sintan, we will be facing at least five thousand soldiers with enough siege equipment for three castles. I do not know how long I can hold them off before they break in and seal Narnia's fate. There is only one thing I can do. I only hope that Narnia can forgive me, unlike my sentiments concerning my ancient counterparts._

_Is love supposed to drive you mad? One minute, I race down to this vault to gaze at his statue and touch his sword where his hand grasped it so long ago; the next, I throw it back into its box and scream in fury for how much I hate him for leaving me! It was because he left that Narnia fell from the Golden Age. It was because he left that the Telmarines had the opportunity to break through Narnia's weaknesses. It is because of him that I feel so numb and angry. I have seen many lives lived around me, so many births, weddings, and festivals, but I can only feel dead resentment. If this is one of the tests Aslan spoke of, I am riding into failure. Time is too heavy a burden. Today, Narnia will fall. Today, I will die. _

Peter swiftly turned on Aida, who neutrally studied a statue which was obviously a copy of her avian self on the apparent tomb.

"You said that you left after her fall. If not for you, she might still be alive!"

A strange smile pulled at the woman's lips as she grimly responded.

"If not for you, Narnia would still be alive. I do not need to read her rants of the moment to know that her mind was tumbling in a downward spiral, nor that it was you, High King, that she loved and hated more than anything else. During my last days here, I could see a darkness growing in Kate's heart. She tried desperately to obey Aslan and protect Narnia, but she frankly felt ultimately abandoned by everyone. By the time I decided to come to Narnia, she was…not the same."

Bitterly staring at the stone coffin, Peter suddenly realized that one of its lower sides had been knocked out of place, leaving bits of rock scattered on the floor. Edmund, however, was the one who bent down to look, following his brother's gaze.

"Bloody codfish!" the younger sibling cried. "There's nothing in there but dust."

Stunned, Peter peeked into the dim hole. Sure enough, it was empty and thinly layered with dust, though there was a bare spot down its middle as if someone had laid there only recently.

"Where is she?" he asked in horror.

* * *

After much debate after his regaining consciousness at dawn that morning, Caspian, called 'King Caspian' by the Trufflehunter, the talking Badger, was allowed to walk around to get his bearings. The day had been spent meeting with some nearby Old Narnians to arrange a meeting concerning taking back the country and Trumpkin, the red dwarf who had originally threatened to kill the boy, and a Squirrel named Pattertwig had been sent to the most likely places where the help summoned by the horn would appear.

Following a satisfying, if nerve-wracking, day, Caspian was sitting outside the Badger hole, contentedly watching the sun disappear in the forest which had previously seemed so frightening. Unfortunately, Katarina had yet to show up. According to Trufflehunter, she had charged after the remaining soldiers not killed by the dwarves.

The sudden cracking of a branch prompted the prince to stand and scan the trees. Trufflehunter, having also heard the noise, came from washing dishes and began sniffing. Both companions almost jumped out of their skins as a large white gelding emerged slowly tromping into the clearing with the rider slumped over its neck.

"Warder Katarina," the Badger chattered, following Caspian to the steed, "we were worried."

As the girl's dead eyes leveled with the young man's, he noticed that she had a slightly curved sword gripped tightly in her hand.

"One got away," she groaned, her voice slipping with emotion of some sort.

"Katarina," Caspian whispered, holding tightly to horse's reigns as it tried to dance.

She looked at him as if amused.

"Why do you all call me that?"

"Aren't you the Warder?"

"I am a simple woman with many mistakes to rectify. Call me what you like, but protecting Narnia…do I look like a great Warder of Narnia to you?"

Trufflehunter gasped in shock.

"If you're not the Warder Katarina, then who are you…and where is she?"

As a hand reached out and softly touched his cheek, the woman showed yet another foggy emotion: tenderness.

"So many questions… That's what happens to the betrayed and the lonely…I know."

Caspian barely caught the Stranger when she slipped lifelessly off of the horse and into his arms, her face almost shining in the darkening night. Her skin glowed like fine parchment against his tan hide. Was she really a legend or just the broken soul she claimed to be? Either way, there was something special about her which pulled at his soul.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	17. D L F

Thanks princess emma of narnia, LucyOfNarnia, trichwin, Ella Unlimited, and Minus the Honey Bear for your reviews!

I would like to specifically thank Minus the Honey Bear for pointing out a despicable mistake of mine: Finchley is a part of London, not a separate town. My apologies!

Hinder's "Better Than Me" is with scene 6…

D. L. F.

Aida knelt on the ground by herself as the sun rose, staring at the gently rippling water and absent-mindedly sifting a fistful of sand through her fingers. All the others were still at the ruins, just waking up to scrounge for apples in a most displeasing mood from the countless roots and stones in the hard dirt. Yes, the ground was an uncomfortable place to sleep, but the falcon-woman herself had awakened feeling quite rested. This was, after all, her home.

The girl's nearly-glowing golden eyes flitted from one point in the distant underbrush to another across the small water passage that separated Cair Paravel from the rest of Narnia; her wild, shoulder-length hair felt as though it was standing on end from the tension. It was quiet…too quiet. Even during her last years in this magical world, the Talking Animals, fauns, Dryads, centaurs, and other amazing creatures still permeated every corner of the forests and fields. Now, however, there was absolutely no evidence of any such life. Indeed, a squirrel chattered in an old pine tree some few hundred feet off, but it was just an ordinary little squirrel, just as the pine with its broken branches and brown discoloration. A sharp pang of sorrow and regret welled up from somewhere deep within her. While she was complaining about strict teachers, laughing, chatting, and, since before memory, enjoying life as a young girl, what had happened to silence the forest? As apparent from Kathryn's diary, Telmarines, a once peaceful, out-of-the-way people, had invaded and taken over Narnia…but what could have been so terrible as to silence the great Trees? How could they have defeated Cair Paravel? Why?

"Aida!" Peter called to her while the troupe emerged from the trees, heading towards the Narnian. The woman jerked her head towards them, not having realized that the sun had risen significantly. Bloody boarding school had softened her mind and dulled her wits. No wonder the children of Earth seemed so witless!

"Sire," Aida addressed the boy, her head-nod earning a surprised widening of the eyes from Peter.

"Not 'Pete' anymore?"

"Here, I have no reason to conceal your rightful title as High King."

"Oh…all right."

Aida took that moment to study the young man. Since returning to Narnia, he had greatly returned to his noble, cheerful self…on the outside, at least. Aida saw through the façade into his eyes, which spoke of a terrible solemnity and loneliness. Oddly, it surprised her that he truly missed Kathryn that much. It was true that the High King and the Warder had seemed an ideal couple; however, she herself had never seen anything come of it. Kate had been his dear friend and adviser…nothing more…or was there more? Perhaps fiction had been true in some ways and the two had actually had a closer relationship when others weren't looking…but she doubted it.

"Look!" Lucy whispered harshly, pointing at the channel. Aida whipped around to see a boat with soldiers in it coming slowly toward the island. By the Lion, she had gone soft!

Before any of them could say or do anything, Susan was already charging ahead of them, fitting an arrow to her bow. Just as the soldiers lifted a bound dwarf from the bottom of their little craft as if to throw it over the side, Su loosed her arrow, which landed in the boat's side for a warning.

"Drop him!" the Queen ordered, fitting another arrow. Aida stared in shock at the demand and was about to protest; however, the action proceeded with Susan shooting one of the soldiers in the shoulder, sending them jumping and swimming for shore, and Edmund and Peter pursuing the boat and sinking dwarf.

After both were dragged onto the sand, Aida followed the others toward the other Narnian and swiftly removed his gag, while Lucy used her dagger to cut the bonds. The falcon still knelt beside the little man when she turned irritably on her companions, surprised when her words were perfectly copied by the rescued creature.

"Drop him?" He was standing by then, glaring at them all, and continued. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice," Susan snapped back.

"They were doing fine drowning me without your help."

"Maybe we should have let them," Peter put in, scowling down at the clueless subject, who looked ever so slightly abashed until Lucy piped up.

"Why were they trying to kill you, anyway?"

Aida shook her head sadly. Wasn't it obvious?

"They're Telmarines," the dwarf replied, meanwhile. "It's what they do."

"Telmarines…" Edmund began in turn. Aida couldn't help but slap her forehead at their obtuse logic. "We still haven't solidified this. What are they doing in Narnia?"

The little one looked at Aida with a significantly torn gaze.

"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?"

The pain in her stomach began to throb. A few hundred years?

"It's a bit of a long story," Lucy offered with a laugh.

Something seemed to dawn on the dwarf as Peter retrieved his sword and the small thing staggered back, staring at the picture they all made: Lucy, Susan, Peter, and Edmund lined standing up in the sand, with Daisy positioned just behind Ed on his left and Aida still kneeling in front of them.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! You're it? You're the Kings and Queens of old!"

At that moment, Peter chose to do the most ridiculous thing possible, stepping forward with his hand outstretched, introducing,

"High King Peter…the Magnificent."

"I didn't mean for that to get to your swelling head…Your Majesty," the avian lady hissed at the same time that Su stated,

"You probably could have left out that last bit."

"Probably," it chuckled back.

Peter just drew his sword, offering,

"You might be surprised."

"Oh…you don't want to do that, boy."

"Not me…him."

Everyone looked at Edmund, most confidently and one doubtfully. Aida pointedly looked at the boy's legs to indicate that that would be where the dwarf would strike, but he simply gave her the most idiotic grin.

* * *

Ed drew his sword as Peter handed his own to their new acquaintance. He wiped the silly grin from his face, trying to remember not to be cocky and to never underestimate an opponent. The dwarf acted as though the sword in his hand was twice his own weight for a moment. Ed was almost caught off guard when the Narnian suddenly attacked with surprising ferocity, striking at his legs before whacking the boy in the mouth, temporarily throwing off his balance. Now he knew what Aida was trying to convey by looking at his legs.

The cockiness he had been attempting to suppress now fled on its own, replaced by lighthearted determination. The dwarf was good, but he was better. His night in Narnia had reawakened the Just King inside the schoolboy. So, after only a few seconds, with a twirl of his weapon, Ed disarmed the dwarf. In shock, the little one collapsed into a sitting position on the sand.

"Beards and bedsteads!" he exclaimed. "Maybe that horn worked after all."

"What horn?" Susan questioned.

"Your horn, Your Majesty. I suppose I'm to believe that you're not ghosts after all."

"But why should we be ghosts?" Lucy queried.

"I've been told all my life that these woods along the shore were as full of ghosts as they were of trees. That's what the story is. And that's why, when they want to get rid of anyone, they usually bring him down here (like they were doing with me) and say they'll leave him to the ghosts. But I always wondered if they didn't really drown 'em or cut their throats. I never quite believed in the ghosts. But those two cowards you've just shot believed all right. They were more frightened of taking me to my death than I was of going!"

"Oh," Su mused. "…so that's why they both ran away."

"Eh? What's that?"

"They got away…to the mainland," Ed offered.

"I wasn't shooting to kill you know," the girl pouted.

The dwarf growled quietly, saying,

"That's not so good. That may mean trouble later on…unless they hold their tongues for their own sake."

Peter took charge then.

"Why would they try to kill you? If they've conquered Narnia, what logical reason could they possibly have beyond the fact that they're Telmarines?"

The serious front of the dwarf dropped as he replied.

"Oh, I'm a dangerous criminal, I am…but that's a long story. Meantime, I was wondering if perhaps you were going to ask me to breakfast? You've no idea what an appetite it gives one, being executed."

"There's only apples," Lucy said woefully.

"Better than nothing, but not so good as fresh fish. It looks as if I'll have to ask you to breakfast instead. I saw some fishing tackle in that boat…and anyway, we must take her round to the other side of the island. We don't want anyone from the mainland coming down and seeing her."

Through the hour following, the group, with their dwarf companion, whose name they discovered was Trumpkin, took the boat around to the other side and did what they could with the tackle, catching a few nicely sized fish. Aida surprised them all, especially poor Trumpkin, when she abruptly turned into a grey and brown falcon right before their eyes and instantly snatched up two large fish from the water. The hour following that was filled with eating and tale telling, whereupon they heard of the King apparent, Caspian, and the 'Old' Narnians' recently stirred-up fight against the Telmarines. Though Peter didn't say anything related, Edmund that he was dying to know what had happened to Kate.

Finally, with stomachs full and questions answered, they set off in the boat towards a nearby river winding its way through the forest.

* * *

With Trumpkin in the bow and Edmund and Peter rowing, the girls sat looking at the scenery, but Daisy was in fact more interested in her own musings. She had Edmund (always had, in fact), and yet she felt jealousy. She hadn't seen or heard from her cousin in over a year, and poor Peter, though he hid it well, was a tortured wreck because of it...and they didn't even know if she was still alive…and she felt jealous, of all things! Little Miss Margaret Benten had what most people never did…there was no confusion over which boy she was interested in…she had already been engaged to him! She had a wonderful education, a King for a past and future lover, and all the opportunity in the world for expanding her knowledge, while Kate had probably gone through the demons' lair during those terribly long years without knowing whether the people she loved were even alive…and Daisy was jealous.

The fact was: there had always been something special between Peter and Kathryn in their delayed, respectful relationship. The High King and the younger Warder always had seemed as though they were in a great dance where only they could hear the music…but even they had seemed oblivious to the steps. Edmund and Margaret's relationship had been more…certain, definite, and climactic. What seemed to make Daisy jealous was how sacred and sustained the other couple's story was, while her own wonderful love tale had been stolen from her with tenfold of the cruelty. By the Lion's mane, she was getting married before they whisked back into their puny children's bodies!

With a jerky movement, the girl snatched the oar from a panting Edmund, despite his protest, just as Aida did the same for Peter.

* * *

"Is she still asleep?" the prince quietly asked, pursing his lips at the Badger's nod. Most of the Old Narnians that could be rounded up were already in Aslan's How preparing for the inevitable battling. At noon, Caspian traveled back to Trufflehunter's cave to check on Katarina (or whatever her name was). The woman had been unconscious since she tumbled into his arms the night previously.

Trying not to make too much noise, he knelt next the bed, brushing a stray hair out of the girl's face. As indicated by the Badger, she was still sleeping. Thanks to the Talking Animal, the dirt which had once stained her pale skin was wiped away and a thin white bandage was wrapped around her right upper arm, while several thin cuts stood out on her face and neck. The rest of her was tightly covered by a thick blanket of fur. During his quick study, the boy saw a necklace dangling low about her throat which he hadn't noticed before. The pendant, which was almost covered by the blanket, was actually a petite, vine-patterned silver ring with a single delicate inset of a tiny round emerald. Something told him that there was a story behind that ring. Another thing he hadn't noticed before was a small, round scar on her shoulder which had earlier been hidden by her tattered, white dress. With further examination, a fair guess could be made that the scar had been caused by an arrow.

A mild groan caught Caspian's attention and Katarina opened her eyes, staring straight at him with those hauntingly blank, yet tortured, orbs.

"They won't come," she whispered. A slight shiver gave away a probable cracked rib.

"What do you mean?"

"The Kings and Queens…they won't come."

"What makes you say that? According to your own words, you're not even Katarina."

A smile broke through the fog.

"I saw Peter die."

"Wait…what? I thought they all disappeared."

The smile was replaced by a scowl.

"My dreams are never wrong."

"Just because you see something in a dream doesn't make it true."

"It is with some of my dreams. I saw Peter fighting a Telmarine soldier with a golden visor…and he was losing. It was the same with the Battle of Beruna when we were losing...I saw it beforehand."

"The Battle of Beruna was won and, apparently, you saw that bit before it happened," he hissed, not ready to give up like that. "Likely enough, that contest has yet to happen and Peter will live through it…meaning that he is still alive."

A new emotion entered those cloudy blue eyes.

"I almost hope not."

"Now, don't get her all riled up," Trufflehunter cut in, checking the bandaging. "Your Uncle's soldiers did enough of a job. Did you get the dresses?"

"Uh, yes," the young man stuttered jogging back out to fetch the articles from his saddle. Caspian had been shocked to actually find a whole chest full of women's clothing in the How's armory, just where the Badger had said. With a huff, the creature directed him to set the pile on the stool near the bed and shooed him out, saying that the girl would be ready to travel within half an hour.

* * *

Having once again spent the night under the stars, the entourage had continued their journey, Lucy looking strangely at the trees, the boys carrying raw meat in their pockets from a run-in with a wild bear, and the girls quickly taking advantage of the mock about boys carrying a map in their heads, with the Valiant Queen coyly replying that girls had something in theirs. They were now stunned as they stumbled upon a deep canyon.

"I'm sorry," the High King said. "It's my fault for coming this way. We're lost. I've never seen this place in my life before."

"Oh," Susan complained, "do let's go back and go the other way. I knew all along we'd get lost in these woods."

"Susan! Don't nag at Peter like that. It's so rotten, and he's doing all he can," Lucy scolded, followed by Edmund's own objection.

"And don't you snap at Su like that, either. I think she's quite right."

"Tubs and tortoiseshells!" Trumpkin cried, bewildered by the argument. "If we've got lost coming, what chance have we of finding our way back? And if we're to go back to the Island and begin all over again – even supposing we could – we might as well give the whole thing up. Miraz will have finished with Caspian before we get there at that rate."

"You think we ought to go on, D.L.F.?" Lucy queried.

"I'm not sure the High King is lost. What's to hinder this river being the Rush?"

"Because the Rush is not in a gorge," Peter grumbled.

"Your Majesty says is, but oughtn't you to say was? You knew this country hundreds – it may be a thousand – years ago. Mayn't it have changed? A landslide might have pulled off half the side of that hill, leaving bare rock, and there are your precipices beyond the gorge. Then the Rush might go on deepening its course year after year till you get the little precipices this side. Or there might have been an earthquake, or anything."

"I never thought of that."

"And anyway, even if this is not the Rush, it's flowing roughly north and so it must fall into the Great River anyway. I think I passed something that might have been it, on my way down. So if we go downstream, to our right, we'll hit the Great River. Perhaps not so high as we'd hoped, but at least we'll be no worse off than if you'd come my way."

"Trumpkin, you're a brick. Come on, then. Down this side of the gorge."

"Look! Look! Look!" Lucy suddenly cried.

"Where? What?"

"The Lion: Aslan Himself. Didn't you see?"

The girl's eyes shone with joy.

"Do you really mean…?"

"Where do think you saw him?" Susan interrupted.

"Don't talk like a grown-up," the youngest groaned, frustrated with them all. "I didn't think I saw Him. I saw him."

"Where, Lu?" Peter offered.

"Right up there between those mountain ashes. No, this side of the gorge. And up, not down. Just the opposite of the way you want to go. And He wanted us to go where He was: up there."

* * *

The conversation went back and forth for several moments, caught between purely trusting little Lucy's word and the logic of what seemed to be the right way, until it finally came down to the High King's decision. Trumpkin and Susan were dead set against going up, while the majority of Lucy, Aida, Edmund, and Daisy were for following Lu's vision, the last two making their decision based on their own past mistakes. Finally, Peter spoke, torn between logic and trust.

"Down… I know Lucy may be right after all, but I can't help it. We must do one or the other."

With Lucy nearly bursting with tears, the others began trudging down the hill along the edge of the gorge, with the exception of Aida, who was staring at the boy, who in turn gazed at a wild fruit tree across the trench. Her eyes seemed to pierce his very soul, plainly seeing how terribly bitter-sweet it felt for him to be back in Narnia. She seemed to know that he blamed himself for everything, including leaving Kate behind. Even if she was still alive, he didn't know if he could look her in the eyes again.

_The glittering beauty laughed gaily, her dark hair glistening in the moonlight, followed by a contented sigh as she leaned against a large apple tree and stared out at the long grass in the dimly lit field. Cair Paravel loomed in the back of King Peter's mind as vividly as it loomed on the far side of the field beside the ocean, but the moment kept it at bay. The man was breathing a little heavily from the run._

"_There is nothing like a good jaunt through the Narnian grasslands to lighten the spirits after a whole day cramped in that horrid conference hall with a bunch of smelly centaurs and dusty maps," she chuckled, her voice mirroring the breeze which played with her lengthy mane. "I can't imagine doing what you do, Sire. All the details…one mistake and the world could fall apart. When are you going after the Stag?" _

"_Within a few days," he replied._

_Peter couldn't help but admire how the moonlight seemed to make her simply glow, with the shimmering silver gown setting off the elegance of her figure. Her giggle was cut short as she looked back at him. _

"_What are you staring at, King?"_

_Caught red-handed, the High King straightened his royal blue tunic and brushed the unruly hair from his eyes._

"_How many times must I insist that you call me Peter?"_

_She laughed again._

"_Many more." _

_Both looked toward the forest as the music of a fauns' dance echoed through the air._

"_Dance with me, my Lady?"_

_The darkness may have been playing tricks on his eyes, but he could have sworn that her cheeks brightened with her smile._

"_I would be honored."_

_So, they danced; a slow, graceful, perfect dance. It was nothing like the extreme pirouettes she had performed the first time Peter had witnessed her dancing before the Battle of Beruna, but there was something special about this dance, something that drew their eyes to one another. _

_As the fauns' music swelled, the dance stopped and their lips met for the first time._

"_I would never leave you to study dusty maps and tomes on your own. I give you my word."_

"_I will hold you to that," she whispered, not in the least flustered and leaning her head against his chest. _

"She would know. None of it was your fault, Peter," the falcon whispered with her sultry voice, "…with the exception of this. I would have thought that you had learned to trust Aslan long ago."

"What happened to 'Sire' and 'Your Majesty'?" he half jested.

She stopped in the process of turning away from him.

"You don't deserve it, right now. Oh, and what does 'D.L.F.' mean? I believe I was scouting during that conversation."

He breathed a laugh.

"It means 'dear little friend'."

The boy stayed behind a moment more before following. It was strange that, just after he promised never to leave the delicate politics of Narnia in Kathryn's lovely hands alone, had been swept away, leaving her completely alone and utterly abandoned. He didn't blame her for her angry words in that journal. He didn't deserve her. He doubted that he ever did, even as the Magnificent High King. What had been odd during those blessed years was this: she had known that he was merely human and honored him above any other thing besides Aslan regardless. What he would give to see her just once and beg her forgiveness. He didn't know if he even had the courage for that.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	18. The Right Way

Thanks princess emma of narnia, Ella Unlimited, and LucyOfNarnia for your reviews!

Hanne Hukkleberg's "Lucy", Mireille Mathieu's "Ce soir, je t'ai perdu"…

The Right Way

Hours passed since their directional decision and the exertion of navigating their way through the thick brush was magnified as noon brought about a terribly unseasonable heat. Contrary to the original assessment, the way they were walking was far from easy; in fact, they were slowly realizing that they were actually more lost than before.

Aida would often transform into her avian self and scout ahead, but even her eyes could glean no more from the wild country than the humans'. When she attempted to get information from an overhead hawk or eagle, beaks, claws, and a screech seemed to always be her answer. None of the animals they had so far encountered were Talking Animals. The gentle slope along the river turned into a steep, slippery climbing wall and was still no sign of a way to the other side.

As the early afternoon wore on, the raw bear meat in the boys' pockets was looking very tempting; however, between Susan's urging for them to continue on, the lack of dry wood to cook it, and Trumpkin's argument that raw meat wasn't in the least appealing, they continued on in the end.

"At last!" Susan cried some time later as they rounded a bend. The entourage had finally reached a place where the gorge flattened into an open plain, a bridge where the Fords of Beruna had once been, and a town on the far side where the Battle of Beruna had taken place.

"By Jove!" Ed exclaimed. "We fought the Battle of Beruna just where that town is!"

This news and idea of only being a pleasant jaunt away from Aslan's How greatly lifted their spirits. Just they actually reached the opening, however, a buzzing sound, much like that of a woodpecker, whizzed over their heads, and they soon discovered a cruel arrow lodged in a nearby tree.

"Quick! Quick! Get back! Crawl!" the dwarf panted, leading them back up the hill while arrows fell all around them.

Once out of firing range and with no signs of pursuit, they paused.

"I suppose we'll have to go right up the gorge again now," Lucy said innocently.

"Lu, you're a hero," Peter responded. "That's the nearest you've got today to saying 'I told you so'. Let's get on."

With Trumpkin's urging, they moved well into the forest to cook supper.

* * *

A noise like a gentle breeze awakened Lucy from the deepest sleep she had experienced since her departure from Narnia in the Golden Age and looked up at the beautiful, star-filled sky.

"Lucy…"

After ruling out her father's or Peter's voice as the source of the call, the girl stood, noted that all of her companions were sleeping (even Aida, whose bird's shadow could be faintly seen on a nearby branch), and slipped away into the trees after the voice, her shoes noiselessly padding on the moss.

"Lucy," the voice repeated, the sound like water rushing over river stones.

A moment later, she emerged from the fir forest into a wide, open glade, where others of dozens of kinds moved in a never-ending dance. As Lucy passed through their midst, she danced along with the spectral figures; a huge old man with a drooping face, bushy eyebrows, and a shaggy beard at one glance would be merely an unnaturally moving ancient tree, as did the other leafy people while she stepped to their lilting waltz, but she always kept going forward towards the summons.

Out of the cluster of half-awake nymphs, Lucy reached an opening in the crowd, where a familiar sight caught her eyes.

"Aslan!" she exclaimed, racing to embrace the huge Lion, who toppled to His side at her petite tackle. Her faith in Him hadn't even allowed an instant of thinking that it might have been just a normal lion. Her heart was nearly bursting with joy. "Aslan! Dear Aslan! At last!"

She felt warmer and more content than ever as she gazed into his wise, ageless eyes, sitting between his front paws on the ground, when licked her forehead lightly.

"Welcome, child," He said with that gentle, strong voice.

"Aslan, you're bigger."

"That is because you are older, little one."

"Not because you are?"

"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger." Lucy didn't want to ruin the wonderful moment, but Aslan continued. "Lucy, we must no lie here for long. You have work in hand, and much time has been lost today."

"Yes, wasn't it a shame? _I_ saw You all right. They wouldn't believe me. They're all so…" She was interrupted by a threatening, low rumbling noise, which slightly suggested a growl. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to start slanging the other. But it wasn't my fault anyway, was it?" He merely looked at her, but looks can be worth a thousand words. "Oh, Aslan! You don't mean it was? How could I…I couldn't have left the others and come up to You alone, could I? Don't look at me like that…yes, I suppose I wouldn't have been alone, I know, not if I was with you. But what would have been the good?" Again, nothing…and Lucy's word suddenly came faintly with realization. "You mean that it would have turned out all right…somehow? But how? Please, Aslan! Am I not to know?"

"To know what _would_ have happened, child?" He finally said. "No, nobody is ever told that."

"Oh, dear…"

"But anyone can find out what _will_ happen. If you go back to the other now, and wake them up; and tell them you have seen me again; and that you must all get up at once and follow me…what will happen? There is only way of finding out."

"Do you mean that is what you want me to do?"

"Yes, little one. You must trust me."

"Just like Kate trusted you?" He stared again, bringing her instant remorse. "I'm sorry. I know you only tried to help her. Will the others see you too?"

"Certainly not at first. Later on, it depends."

"But they won't believe me!"

"I think you will have a little help convincing them," He finalized, nodding back at the trees.

Lucy smiled upon seeing a shocked, almost frightened, Margaret just emerging from the still-dancing entourage.

* * *

_Hesitantly waking up from a particularly pleasant dream of the day King Edmund proposed to her during a day-long horseback ride on the beach with the cool water lapping at her bare feet and the sun just beginning to touch horizon as it set, sending waves of color across the land, Daisy opened her eyes and saw the last hints of Lucy's silhouette disappearing into the shrubbery. Glaring at the dozing falcon who was supposed to be on watch, she crept after her little friend, gasping when she eventually was swept up into the trees' sleepy dance._

Finally through the maze of branches, Margie stopped dead in her tracks, gaping at the great Lion and the little human lamb comfortably cuddled between His paws.

A million thoughts and feelings raced through her all at once. She was speechlessly overjoyed, but at the same time unsure, frightened, and ashamed. Subconsciously, she had almost doubted that they would ever see Aslan on this trek, yet there He was. Had she fulfilled her responsibility as Warder? Barely anything had come up on Earth that was in any way related to Narnia, aside from one schoolgirl getting a little too obsessed with her 'bedtime stories'; in fact, the true struggle was remembering that she actually had any supposed tasks.

"Welcome, daughter," He said.

Daisy collapsed on her knees in front of the Cat, welcoming the warm breath.

"Aslan," she began, "I'm sorry. I almost began doubting we would ever return. I'm just as bad as Susan."

"Your difficulty," He corrected with a slight narrowing of the eyes, "is not forgetting too much…it is _remembering_ too much. You have not yet learned to trust."

"But, Aslan," she backpedaled, "I trusted Lucy when she said that she saw You!" That stare was more than a little disconcerting. "All right, so maybe I gave in and went with the flow of things, but…" She couldn't resist her nagging thoughts. Was all of this waiting and 'trust' thing the tests? It must have been! I can't even look at Edmund (and he can't even look at me) without feeling a bit awkward. Please, tell me that was the test!"

His eyes seemed to bore holes into her for a moment. The answer made her stomach drop.

"The tests have not yet begun."

* * *

"_My Lady, they've broken through!" the general called from his position nearby. The one addressed stared in horror at the Telmarine soldiers pouring through the gaping hole in the gate, but the catapults kept at their deadly work, targeting everyone in the way, including their own men. _

_Several minutes of desperate conflict occurred before the centaur spoke again._

"_My Lady," he insisted, slicing through another offender to reach his also-fighting leader, "they have broken through the east wall too! The castle is lost!"_

_Eyes like liquid fire turned on him as the woman lashed at another Telmarine with her thin silver whip in one hand and her elegant sword in the other._

"_We must fight, General!" she hissed, wiping someone else's blood from her face, though it stained most of her white battle dress. "Cair Paravel has never fallen before in its history and I have no intention of marring that record."_

_The desperate soldier dragged the Warder out of the fighting at the wall, tightly holding onto her arm._

"_We are lost! Why do you continue denying that fact?"_

_Suddenly on the brink of tears, Kathryn looked down at the necklace dangling about her neck and the ring that hung from it. When she had given in to clearing out the Kings and Queens' rooms, a mild perusing in Peter's quarters came up with an exquisite ring hidden away in a drawer. Though she didn't know why it was there, she had claimed it in his memory, convincing herself that it was meant for her._

"_I promised to keep Narnia safe. If I let Cair Paravel fall, my mission is a failure and I have no right to be called a Warder."_

"_You won't do Narnia any good if you're dead; that is certain. You have to go."_

_She bristled angrily at that._

"_I will _not_ reduce myself to hiding away until who-knows-when and leave Narnia to such an uncertain fate on its own! Besides, I cannot stand that dreary place."_

"_If you stay, Narnia will certainly fall and certainly be forever without hope…but, if you go now, Narnians will live on with the hope of your return."_

_The woman stared out at the ruthless slaughter nearby, ignoring the harsh tinkling of arrows on the cobblestoned pavement, while also trying to ignore her momentary problem._

"_None of this would have happened if Peter had never left."_

_The centaur barely hesitated in pressing a question._

"_Do you hate him?"_

_Steam should have been coming from her ears. Lightening bolts should have been leaping from her eyes._

"_My duty may be to Narnia, my loyalties to Aslan, and my love to these people…but my hate has grown through the centuries. A broken heart cannot be mended when the cost of the needle and thread is the safety of a world. The pieces of my heart remain in Narnia, however I may have once wished for more. I only regret that he never…"_

* * *

_The most important part of her reflection was interrupted by her pained gasp as an arrow embedded itself in her shoulder. She was helpless to resist the creature as he pulled her to the main castle, into the grand hall, through the carved door, down the stone staircase, and through the treasure chamber to the next, never-used space._

"_What did you do?" she whispered, gazing in horror at the filled chest on the opposite side with a statue of her and what was unmistakably a tomb in the middle._

"_After I reported the sighting of the Telmarines to you, I took the liberty of coming down here and preparing…this."_

"_This?" the woman weakly protested, sweat glistening on her face. "The place you choose to make me wait is a tomb, Sintan. I thought you were rooting for the 'live now, come back later' ideal."_

"_I am. Here, no one will find you unless they are looking for hope. You are that hope, Kathryn."_

_Easing his leader onto a bench in front the chest, Sintan went to fetch bandages, while the woman delicately picked up her journal and the pen and inkwell with it…anything to distract her from the pain and what Sintan was about to do._

"_They are coming!" the general suddenly cried, his hooves clattering on the rock stairs. Her first words of the entry were a copy of his exclamation. _

_**They are coming. I do not know how I could have been so foolish. Soon after the last King's disappearance, Telmarines, people from somewhere beyond the sea, trickled into Narnia. At first, I only assumed them to be simple criminals who were shipwrecked and were taking advantage of their circumstances; however, they kept coming. Their numbers increased each day. They attacked our scouts and ambushed anyone, whether they had a weapon or not. Their only goal is to kill and take over. Without mercy, like a cancer, they slowly continued to pick us off.**_

_Her fury was disturbed by the stabbing agony of the centaur snapping the end of the vicious arrow and yanking it out. Squealing in agony and not-so-lightly biting her tongue, Kathryn wiped away the splattered blood from the pages with her sleeve and slowly continued to write while her shoulder screamed out in pain._

_**By the time I realized that this could not be solved by mere diplomacy and small forces to scoop up these foreigners, there were more of them than I could have possibly imagined. When I went onto that battlefield, I instantly knew that this war was lost. After that failure, they continued their guerilla warfare; however, they never even approached Cair Paravel…until now. The forces I battled with the last time are approaching with even more added to their number from the north. Ships are coming from the ocean… According to General Sintan, we will be facing at least five thousand soldiers with enough siege equipment for three castles. I do not know how long I can hold them off before they break in and seal Narnia's fate. There is only one thing I can do. I only hope that Narnia can forgive me, unlike my sentiments concerning my ancient counterparts.**_

_That was silly. They had already broken through...but it looked good on the page.**  
**_

"_My Lady…" She looked up, clinging to her book, to find Sintan bowed down to her. They both knew what would happen, but somehow she was able to regard it with an emotionlessly numb feeling. "It has been an honor serving you."_

"_It has been an honor to know you, General."_

_Trying to block out the screams and the driving sensation to rush back into battle when the creature opened the vault door, she wrote on, the amount of sweat seeming to double from the throbbing in her shoulder and her heart._

_**Is love supposed to drive you mad? One minute, I race down to this vault to gaze at his statue and touch his sword where his hand grasped it so long ago; the next, I throw it back into its box and scream in fury for how much I hate him for leaving me! It was because he left that Narnia fell from the Golden Age. It was because he left that the Telmarines had the opportunity to break through Narnia's weaknesses. It is because of him that I feel so numb and angry. I have seen many lives lived around me, so many births, weddings, and festivals, but I can only feel dead resentment. If this is one of the tests Aslan spoke of, I am riding into failure. Time is too heavy a burden. Today, Narnia will fall. Today, I will die.**_

_She looked from the tomb to her bloody clothes to the white gown in the chest as she slowly closed the journal. Death seemed so sweet. _

_Another scream echoed down the cavern._

_The Old Narnia was at an end. Old stories were dead and gone, leaving only her. With her failure, it was her turn. It would be right for the Warder's ghost to haunt the ruins of Cair Paravel. Stories of the dead restless, raging lover of the High King would surely spread enough to allow her to sleep and, eventually, die in peace, from the length of time if not from other causes._

_Maybe the tomb didn't look so bad after all._

* * *

"Supposing I started behaving like Lucy," Susan growled as the others grouchily prepared to follow Lucy after the invisible thing that was supposedly Aslan in the middle of the night. I might threaten to stay here whether the rest of you went on or not. I jolly well think I shall."

"Obey the High King, Your Majesty," Trumpkin muttered, scratching at his drooping eyelids, "and let's be off. If I'm not to be allowed to sleep, I'd as soon march as stand here talking."

Everyone else instantly trekked off up the gorge, leaving Su to pout and Daisy to round on her classmate with tight lips.

"Susan Pevensie, I knew that Narnia was beginning to fade from you, but I thought that Queen Susan the Gentle was still somewhere in there. I guess I was wrong. Even after seeing all of this, you're still a doubting pussycat."

"How dare you!" the other girl squeaked, looking rather like a rooster seeing an offending cock in its territory.

"I may be a miniature of what I used to be, but I am still a Warder of Narnia and I have every right to dare you silly! You're out of your senses! Get yourself together or risk being left behind for the wild bears."

By the time the two girls finally caught up with their friends, they were already halfway down a steep incline on a hidden path to the river.

"What if we slip and break our necks?" Su whined from behind Margaret.

"Don't you see Aslan?"

"I only see slippery rocks and loose dirt!"

Margaret barely heard the last comment as her eyes caught sight of the regal figure of Edmund. Narnia had brought back memories of a romance long forgotten by many. Chills ran down her spine. Maybe there was still hope for that legendary couple to one day be together again.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	19. Lust and Resentment

Thanks LucyOfNarnia and Ella Unlimited for your reviews!

So, just as an FYI to any possible Caspian/Susan lovers out there…there isn't really going to be any Caspian/Susan in this story. My apologies, but that little scenario just isn't my cup of tea, as it were.

Sarah McLachlan's "Drifting" is with scene 4 and Sting's "A Thousand Years" is for scenes 7-9…

Lust and Resentment

Having heard of a disturbance in the forest from a scout, Caspian and a small group of Old Narnians crept through the trees to investigate any further commotion. The prince kept glancing at the woman noiselessly passing through the weeds and moss on the forest floor with her soft rawhide boots nearby.

"I do remember you," he suddenly stated, lowering the volume of his voice a little, "…from a children's rhyme."

She suddenly looked at him, the first real smile he had seen from her beaming on her pale face, and laughed, a sound like chimes.

"Is that the best the Telmarines could do?"

"I suppose they tried erasing any memory of you, since you were probably their worst enemy during the takeover of Narnia, so even the rhyme is a little vague."

"Stop this drawl, my prince, and tell me the rhyme."

For a moment he hesitated, wondering how she would take it.

"She creeps at night through the trees like a blight,

Taking little Telmarine children.

In the day, she slaughters their parents like a hawk attacking prey.

Pray, little darlings, and stay in your beds.

The black widowed Warder the shadows betray."

Caspian cringed, waiting for her reaction at being portrayed as a terrible nightmare, but the response was nothing like he expected. A betraying laugh rang loudly through the forest. He couldn't help but smile at the surprisingly warm sound that teased his ears before she caught herself in the act, suddenly looking around suspiciously and resuming her stealthy pace with a face stonier than ever as she set a course away from the rest.

* * *

Aida rose further up on a wave of warm air, bathing in the heat of the sun which was so terribly denied her on the ground, contemplating her last scouting trip the day before.

_After encountering so many wild sparrows, falcons, and geese, a rest on a treetop offered an odd sight. Perhaps a hundred feet away on another branch was a glorious eagle with the sun reflecting off of his glossy chocolate and golden white feathers. Something told the Falcon that he was exactly the fellow Animal contact that she had been seeking all this time, but something else stopped her from taking action as he stared straight at her, cocking his regal head with equal interest. She couldn't even call out to inquire as to whether he was a Talking Animal. What had happened to her in that boarding school to make her so soft, she didn't know._

_To Aida's utter disappointment, her lack of action cost her the opportunity as the eagle let out a piercing cry and flew away towards the sunset. For a moment, she could only stare after him like a moonstruck calf. The others couldn't find out about this fiasco. How would they ever look at her again the same? She was Aida, a transforming Bird created by Aslan at the beginning of Narnia and the trusted adviser of the Warders of Narnia, not the boy-chasing teenage schoolgirl who jumped ten feet whenever a teacher said 'hop' like she pretended on Earth! How could she stop this? She didn't like feeling so vulnerable._

Something suddenly caught the Falcon's far-seeing eyes on the ground and she swooped downward, silently lodging herself against a tree within sight of the forest floor. Below was a man creeping through the underbrush with unnatural grace…at least, unnatural for a human.

Aida cringed when her claw scraped ever so slightly against the bark as she crawled onto the nearest branch, though she was shocked when the eyes belonging to the tall, muscular man with smooth, shaggy blond hair looked straight at her. Golden eyes.

* * *

Peter walked past yet more trees as he reached the top of a small incline, some ways ahead of his companions, still puzzling over the bell-like sound he had just heard ringing through the forest. Though he had made the excuse of scouting and making sure that path ahead was clear, he honestly just wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

For the first time since their arrival back in Narnia, the once High King Peter the Magnificent was at last being hit by the possibility that Kathryn might actually be dead. Though she had obviously lived hundreds of years after the Golden Age, trying to keep Narnia safe, her journal had specifically said that she was going to die that day the Telmarines attacked Cair Paravel. As painful as the thought was, there was a good probability that Kate was no more, that the budding romance between the King and Warder was, quite literally, history of a past long gone.

A hand suddenly went to his sword as he spotted movement ahead, but what he saw once sufficiently planted on the ground froze any movement or thought instantly.

Silently gliding past the brush with a long-fingered hand resting on the bluish black hilt of her curved sword was a woman with shining black hair flowing in gentle waves down to her modestly shapely hips. Her sea-blue dress was of a soft, fluid material that gently complimented her equally modest figure, though the low-cut, sweeping neckline, while not revealing, set off her broad shoulders, making her chest seem also broader in combination with her board-straight back. The long, wide sleeves of the outfit nearly hid the metallic, midnight blue bracers with vine carving on her forearms, while her getup was finished by the sword, black belt, and silver chain tied loosely about her waist.

* * *

"Aslan?" he suddenly heard Lucy say nearby. Peter lunged through the brush separating him from his sister just in time to hide her from the passing minotaur she had taken for the Lion.

Signaling for the child to keep quiet, the young man stood and drew his sword, moving towards his soon-to-be foe and pushing the thoughts of the woman momentarily from his mind; however, his approach was cut short by a sudden attack from the side by another sword-wielding man with shoulder-length black hair and intensely dark eyes.

Doing his best to recuperate from the surprise, Peter fought back with determined ferocity, somewhat relishing the feeling of once again fighting with a sword in his hand rather than being mercilessly bullied by some fist-eager school kid. The match seemed to be fair for a moment until the High King managed to disarm his opponent, who instantly jumped away from the flying weapon and took full advantage when the returned legend accidentally embedded his sword in a tree trunk, kicking Peter in the stomach. Recovering, the downed warrior grabbed a rock and ran at the boy who was trying to retrieve the stuck sword, though Lucy's cry halted them both.

"No, stop!"

As the other man recovered his ancient sword, Peter looked around to realize that he was surrounded by quite a few Narnian creatures. Turning back to the other fighter, who was pointing the stolen sword at its owner, he came to the only possible conclusion, hesitantly querying,

"Prince Caspian?"

"Yes…and who are you?" the other man returned with a distinctly foreign accent. Susan screaming the King's name served as the answer, especially when Edmund, Daisy, and Trumpkin also showed up. The engravings on the sword seemed to help give a hint as well. "High King Peter!"

"I believe you called," 'High King Peter' responded to the wonder.

"Yes, but…I thought you'd be older."

"Well, if you like, we can come back in a few years."

"No! No, that's all right. I just…you're not exactly what I expected."

"Neither are you," Edmund put in, eyeing the minotaur.

"A common enemy unites even the oldest of foes," a Badger quoted.

A Mouse also offered his say in the matter to Peter.

"We anxiously awaited your return, my liege. Our hearts and swords are at your service."

"My gosh," Lucy whispered, "he is so cute."

"Who said that?" the little thing cried, threatening with his tiny sword.

"Sorry."

"Oh, uh, Your Majesty…with the greatest respect…I do believe courageous, courteous, or chivalrous might more befit a Knight of Narnia."

"Well," Peter stated, "at least some of you can handle a blade."

"Yes, indeed. And I have recently put it to good use securing weapons for your army, Sire."

"Good, because we are going to need every sword we can get," he said, returning his attention to Caspian, who yielded his own weapon, saying,

"Well then, you will probably be wanting yours back."

"He'll need it," a hissing voice, too flat in the pronunciation to be quite British, growled, leaving Peter barely prepared for the attack suddenly launched at him by the same woman he had seen previously.

Her swift slicing and stabbing motions were ruthlessly violent, as if she really meant to kill him. By the icy fury in the stormy blue eyes that stared out at him from that pale elfin and painfully familiar face, he didn't doubt her lethal intentions in the least. The gentle beauty from so long ago had transformed into a viper. A successful cut on the back of his leg weakened Peter's grip, allowing her disarm him, leaving him open for a sweeping slice she seemed all-too-willing to give.

She didn't heed Lucy screeched objection, but a hand on her arm stopped Peter's life marching past before his eyes.

"Katarina," Caspian quietly said, slipping the sword from her grasp, "Narnia needs him." Though the woman seemed perfectly pliable under the prince's influence as Peter limped back to his feet and retrieved his once more lost sword, her cooing voice held more spite than he thought possible in a human being.

"Where was he when Narnia needed him before, Caspian?" Only the young man's name was said without complete anger. "Where was he when _I_ needed him?"

"He is here, you know," Peter sarcastically grumbled, almost regretting the call for her attention when those orbs of icy fire turned on him, looking straight into his eyes, an easy task since they were almost exactly the same height.

"Where _were_ you, Peter? I put all my trust in you and you threw it away like it was nothing just when I you needed most!"

"It's not like I did it on purpose," he lamely said.

"Where could you possibly have been all these years that could detain you non-purposefully? It has been thirteen hundred years!"

"We were in England." The answer seemed to gauge no reaction but disbelief and heightened resentment. "Don't you remember England? What about your family, the horse, Professor Kirke? Don't you remember anything?"

She glared at him for a moment, a hint of sadness almost seeming to creep through her veil of anger as she snatched her sword from Caspian and sheathed it.

"I remember I loved you…High King Peter."

When what he had known to be his loyal Warder Kathryn stalked away, though not before brushing Caspian's arm with disconcerting fondness, he impulsively started to follow, only to be held back by the prince, who said,

"Leave her be. She has been through more than you can imagine."

Peter scowled in his response.

"I can imagine a lot."

"I think not. After she awakened, she was captured by my uncle's men and tortured in the dungeon before we managed to help her escape. I'm surprised that she didn't ignore me and kill you anyway."

"Gee, thanks."

"It's just…she's happy-go-lucky one second and insanely furious at nothing the next. I'm not sure if she's entirely…sane."

Peter suddenly glowered darkly at the man and turned away.

"Don't you dare talk about her like that."

Caspian seemed perfectly shocked.

* * *

Edmund persistently inquired after every possible minute detail of Narnia's history following the Golden Age that he could imagine from the eldest centaur, who very well may have been the descendant of General Oreius. Though the information answered quite a few questions, his main objective in paying so much attention to the centaur was to avoid Margaret. Lately, the girl had been inching closer and closer to him whenever he sat down and finding some bazaar excuse to link her arm around his at every possible moment. While the memory of their lovely romance was perfectly vivid in his mind, Edmund was worried that he was the only of the two still in touch with the reality of their youth.

"You seem to have a cling-on," the centaur noted, nodding to the approaching Daisy.

Ed rolled his eyes and jogged to catch up with Peter and Caspian. He would have to do something about this situation.

Then, they came across a wide field with a giant grassy hill on the other side: Aslan's How. Centaurs lined the stone entrance to welcome their approach. As the four Kings and Queens led the way through the tunnel of swords, Edmund stared in wonder at the dark cave they were about to enter.

* * *

Pursing his lips as the monarchs of legend passed by the ceremonial greeting, trailed closely by the stick of a girl called Margaret, he followed the gaze of the woman standing beside him to two figures rounding the How. One he recognized, but the woman he had never seen before.

"Cadal," he acknowledged the golden-haired man, "how was your part of the scouting?"

"Fairly productive, sire," the rich-voiced bird-man replied, suddenly motioning to his female companion with dusty brown hair and hawkish eyes. "This is Aida. She returned with the Kings and Queens…she is somewhat of a guide and protector for the Warders."

The prince raised his eyebrows.

"For the Warders?"

"Aye, sir."

Caspian's inquiring gaze moved to Katarina, who stared blankly at Aida before a smile finally graced her lips as she said,

"Aida…it's good to see you again, my friend." Aida grinned cheekily, glanced warily at Cadal, and disappeared into the How, while Cadal walked in the other direction. "I see a spark between those two. I can only hope that it doesn't turn out like mine."

"You really loved him?" Caspian asked, looking to where the High King had gone.

Piercing eyes met his.

"With all my heart…unfortunately. You should have let me kill him."

He ignored the comment.

"So, you are the Warder after all. She's not dead."

"Congratulations, Prince. You caught me. But, the fact is…" She leaned into him, wrapping her arm around his. Though Caspian graciously kissed her hand in return, the wheels in his mind were turning with the suspicion of the girl's unpredictability. "…I have new interests."

"Are you just saying that to spite him?" A mischievous look flashed in her eyes. "Katarina, you a brilliant, beautiful, hurt person…but don't put me into the middle of your apparent problems with the High King just to make him jealous."

"Do you think me capable of such a thing?" A thin knife suddenly appeared in her hand.

"I think you capable of anything."

The knife disappeared with a twirl of her hand.

"Do you really think that I am that cold?"

"Katarina, more than a thousand years passed between their disappearance and now. I know that you hate him…but I think that you still love him. Don't put me in the way of that, I beg you."

"If you are going to throw me at his feet, then you should know that my real name is Kathryn."

"Is that so?"

"Time changes much…but I am not insane, if that is what you are thinking. Everything else has changed like a flower…blooming one moment and dying the next. Life is a great dance with your partners being Death, Time, and Love. All have their good and bad reactions."

The suggestion of a dance sent shivers down his back, causing him to drop the conversation and pursue the others.

"_Have you seen Katarina?" Caspian asked one of the Mice._

"_Yes, sire; she left the How and went somewhere around the back of it."_

"_Thank you."_

_Behind the How was an unexpected grove of cherry trees with a small pond of crystal clear water. Beside the pond was Katarina…dancing. With her eyes closed, the woman's body flowed gracefully in elegant forms that captivated the eye, though no music was audible, unless the breeze in the tree branches counted._

"_It was a night like this on which the spark of romance was first lit for me," she said just above a whisper. "I danced and he watched, just as you are doing now. Dancing connected us. Over the years, when everyone else in the castle was asleep, we danced. Of course, dancing wasn't the only thing that brought us together. I helped him plan his tactical movements and counseled him when he was troubled. He kept me distracted from my fate of being trapped here…though I suppose it was my choice."_

"_What do you mean?" the prince hesitantly queried, stepping out of the shadows._

"_Though I do not recall much, I do remember being given a choice of leaving Narnia. The only reason I never really even considered it was because I thought I would fail the tests Aslan told me about by leaving…but I have failed them by staying."_

_The entire time, her sorrowful account was told with no more care than if she spoke of the weather._

"_What tests?"_

"_He never told me."_

"_Then how do you know that you failed?"_

"_My heart is full of resentment and I let Narnia fall. The woman I was is dead, Caspian."_

"_So…that's what you meant."_

* * *

"Someone must have seen us," she whispered, holding a torch and gently touching the rough painting on the cave wall of a tall man and a dark-haired maiden kissing in a pale field next to a leafy tree. While it was one of many beautiful portraits in the tunnels, it was by far her favorite. A tear skidded down her cheek with that tender memory. Tender, yet painfully bitter.

_Kathryn's eyes popped open as if she had just awakened from a nightmare. The air was sour, stale, and hard to breathe._

"_Peter!" she croaked, her voice cracking as tears poured down her face. Her memory felt like someone had taken a hammer to it. She remembered her love, the betrayal, and her failed task of protecting Narnia, but there were significant holes in the times before the Battle of Beruna and after the Kings and Queens' disappearance._

_Kathryn groped in the stifling darkness and instantly began to panic when her hands found a solid, cold barrier not even a foot away all around her. She pounded away at the black nothingness for what seemed an eternity, sobbing and screaming as blood began trickling to the chilled floor from her bruised knuckles. Being trapped in a small space had never been one of her favorite things, but this was the pinnacle of it all. Sweat was seeping out of every pore; her breathing became quick and labored; scrambled thoughts, faces, and ideas were racing through her head in chaotic disorder._

_All of a sudden, the dead silence was broken by the sound of cracking stone to her left. With flickering hope, she pounded harder, breaking nails and cracking bone until; with one resounding crack, she broke out into the moist, cool air of a large, stone room. Memories of her crawling into that horrid tomb floated back as she threw open the chest, scrambled for the white bandaging in the corner, and flew through the pages of her ancient journal, trying to fill in the holes of Swanwhite and the Telmarines._

_SSSSS_

_Kathryn crawled out from the hidden back exit that emerged just at the foot of Cair Paravel…at least, it used to. Turning around, she dropped to her knees in horror at the ruins above her._

_How long?_

_SSSSS_

_Night was coming swiftly upon her. She was lost. The trees wouldn't say a word to her and every animal fled instantly. What had the Telmarines done to her beloved country?_

_The feeling that she was being followed proved itself true as a man's voice called,_

"_I told you the ghost was out, Captain!"_

_Spooked out of her wits, the woman broke out into a run, crashing through the trees and holding tightly onto her sword._

"_Don't let her get away! Kathle, go inform Lord Miraz!"_

_Hours passed. The moon was full and seemed to be putting a spotlight on the fugitive. She felt like a fox being chased by the hounds. They were getting closer! She couldn't keep this up much longer._

_"Peter..." The whisper of despair came despite all her hate. "Peter, why leave me to this fate? I loved you. I...love you. Come back. Please, don't let them take me."  
_

_SSSSS_

"_Come on, pretty thing. Lord Miraz has prepared a nice cool room in the basement for you."_

"_Kathle, how hard do you have to hit a bird over the head to put it out of its misery?"_

_The puny man chuckled hideously._

"_Harder than you did back in the forest, sir."_

_The woman head-butted the man holding her tied arms and let out furious cry when he grabbed her again as the little quarreling entourage entered the town surrounding the horrid castle that dominated the landscape. The apparent leader tore a strip from his tunic when they paused in an alley and used it as a gag, tearing at her hair when he secured the cruel knot._

"_Would you quiet down, little miss? The town-folks are trying to sleep."_

_Though the helpless lady kept kicking and scratching as her bonds would allow, she couldn't help but tremble in fright and fury at the Telmarine fortress looming before her. Oh, how Peter would pay for leaving her to this fate! _

_She managed to slip her gag and spit in the leader's eye before they threw her down in chains in a dripping, mossy cell. The woman curled up, smirking with the knowledge that they could never break her and sneering at the empty room with the hate she felt for that confounded man._

"At least you haven't forgotten that," a rich, warm voice commented. The Warder spun around, surprising Peter with a resounding slap across his face. "All right, I don't know how civilization has progressed here, but where I come from, that is considered an insult."

"I trusted you!" she breathed harshly. "Do you have _any_ idea what I have been through all these years?"

The tips of his ears went that rose pink she had always loved.

"I read some of your journal. I know you hate me, but would you ever consider giving me another chance?"

She looked into those eyes she had always gotten lost in and at those lips she had kissed, and turned back towards the wall of memories.

"I don't think I will be able to love again."

"Even me?"

She closed her eyes, determined to not lash out or kiss him.

"Especially you."

A painful pause ensued.

"What about your new friend, the good prince?"

"What about him?"

"You certainly seemed close."

Her jaw tensed. Caspian was practically ready to throw her into the High King's arms, despite his obvious affections.

"Leave my personal affairs to me, High King. I have resented you for this long and lasted without you; I certainly do not need you now."

Again hiding her emotions with the stony front she had come to know over the centuries, Kathryn walked away.

* * *

_Peter stared around in shock at the painting on the tunnel walls that Susan was showing him. The present focus of attention was a scene of their coronation._

"_It's us," the older girl pointed out._

"_What is this place?" Lucy asked._

_Caspian looked at them quizzically before replying._

"_You don't know?"_

"_I personally think I have a good guess, but why don't you tell us," Daisy offered._

The prince had led them to a great room, lit a line of lamps similar to the ones in Cair Paravel's treasure vault, and displayed the centerpiece of the cave, which turned out to be the Stone Table itself. The King now sat against the wall of that room staring at the Table, as if trying to find an answer in its ancient carvings.

"Romance issues?" a voice sighed.

Peter turned to see Daisy just as she moved to sit beside him.

"What do you know about it?" he mildly snapped back, not at all fazing the girl.

"I'm at an age where I should just be starting to think of men seriously and I've already been in love and engaged as of more than a year ago, according to my calculations. Now, I'm back in this scrawny body with the intellect and romantic issues of an adult, though I have no way of acting on them without stepping above the limits of my physical age. I want to kiss him and go for picnics in the woods and talk of our wedding day, but it won't happen again for years, yet. I know Edmund feels the same, but he's absolutely unresponsive. It's like I don't exist anymore. You see, I do in fact know something of romantic issues."

He couldn't help but laugh at her cheeky grin.

"Kate has changed into a ruffled hen and hates me," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Sounds like we're even."

* * *

"Margie, what are you talking about? We're kids. That's a fact."

Edmund seemed to practically jump out of his skin when Daisy turned back to him and planted a forceful, quick kiss right on his lips.

"I don't _feel_ like a kid, Ed. I still feel like an engaged woman giddy for her wedding day. I'm stuck on a turntable of the day we left, singing the same song over and over again."

He scowled darkly.

"That day is both gone and in the future. If you feel like such a grown woman, then quit acting like a lustful teenager and start showing some of the patience you supposedly got during our last time in Narnia. Now… Leave. Me. Alone."

Margaret gaped as he walked away, completely shocked and insulted by the terrible truth of her immaturity, which she wasn't about to let up on.

What she didn't foresee was that her stubbornness in that temptation would backfire in failure and heartbreak.

Well, a very long chapter completed and the next one to come soon enough with the momentary resolution of these little conflicts. Thanks for reading and please review!


	20. The First Tests

Thanks LucyOfNarnia and FeatherDaydreamer for your reviews!

Vertical Horizon's "Call It Even" is for scenes 2-3 and Vanessa Amorosi's "Every Time I Close My Eyes" is with scene 6…

The First Tests

"It's only a matter of time. Miraz's men and war machines are on their way. That means those same men aren't protecting his castle," Peter declared, standing in the middle of the room with the Stone Table.

"What do you propose we do, Your Majesty?" Reepicheep, the head Mouse, queried.

Caspian and Peter tried offering their proposals at the same time, but it was the latter who ultimately had his say first.

"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us."

"But that's crazy! No one has ever taken that castle," the prince objected.

"There's always a first time."

"We have the element of surprise," Trumpkin admitted before Caspian once again argued.

"But we have the advantage here."

"If we dig in, we could probably hold them off indefinitely," put in Susan, taking the Telmarine's side.

Another Narnian sided with Caspian before Peter could continue, focusing on the other dominating male.

"Look, I appreciate what you've done here, but this isn't a fortress; it's a tomb." Katarina shivered at the word.

It was Ed's turn to speak, apparently.

"Yes, and if their smart, the Telmarines will just starve us out."

"We could collect nuts," a Squirrel cried.

"Yes! And throw them at the Telmarines!" Reepicheep replied sarcastically. "Shut up! I think you know where I stand, Sire."

With certainty, the High King looked to the head centaur, saying,

"If I get your troops in, can you handle the guards?"

"…or die trying, my Liege," the creature solemnly answered.

Standing beside the Table with her hands linked behind her back and her head high, the dark-haired Warder nodded her approval to the input of the valiant Lucy, who sat comfortably on the broken rock, distressfully watching the conflict.

"That's what I'm worried about."

"Sorry?" Peter dumbly queried.

"We're all acting like there are only two options: dying here or dying there."

"I'm not sure you're really listening, Lu."

"No, _you_'re not listening…or have you forgotten who_ really_ defeated the White Witch, Peter?"

The young man looked from his sister to a disappointed Katarina with a stiff jaw…and such a regal jaw it was.

"I think we have waited for Aslan long enough."

He turned to go, but was stopped as Caspian surpassed him in courtesy in addressing the silent legend.

"I think we have failed to acknowledge that there is one among us who has seen more battles and wars than anyone alive. What say you, Warder Katarina?"

Out of the corner of her eye, the woman could see her cousin sitting beside Edmund and looking very insulted at being so ignored, but her primary focus, as it always seemed to be, was on Peter. Despite having the memories of all his accomplishments, he was no longer the time- and age-tested High King of ages ago.

"Peter is right about one thing," she said quietly, forcing everyone to listen quite intently. "There is always a first. Cair Paravel stood for many centuries before it fell. But, when it did fall, it was to overwhelming forces of thousands of Telmarines troops and war machines, not merely a few swords and claws. So…I believe that attacking the castle would be a risky and foolish attempt…but neither can we hole ourselves up in this place. It would be like trying to block a flood of water with a piece of parchment. Aslan came to our help before…I know He will do it again."

Despite her claim, everyone still seemed inclined to go running into battle and instantly set about preparations. As Peter passed by the Table, he spoke for her ears alone, though Lucy was very much in hearing distance.

"Why?"

"It's simple: you are wrong. I will not go charging off on this hair-brained mission just to see it fail. But who am I to say what's better or worse? You, oh great King, seemingly know everything."

"I can only be a true King with you at my side."

"Get over yourself, clown-boy."

With a spring in her step, Katarina walked away to clean bandages for later.

* * *

Three or four hours was all it took for the Old Narnians to prepare, attack the castle, and be painfully defeated. About an hour or two after dawn, the pitiful army was stumbling back to Aslan's How to nurse injured bodies and pride. So many had died in the attempt that the whole venture didn't seem in any way worth it. Just outside the entrance, those who had remained behind, including Lucy, met them.

Peter and Caspian responded to the youngest girl's worried inquiry by replacing their grudging silence with a fiery word contest as to whose fault the catastrophe was.

Kathryn wasn't seen emerging from the shadowed entry, with eyebrows furrowed with disapproval, until Caspian's outraged cry:

"Hey! I am not the one who abandoned Narnia." His sympathetic glance towards Kathryn was very obvious.

"You invaded Narnia. You have no more right here than Miraz does! …you, him, your father! Narnia's better off without the lot of you!"

Ed finally tired of the conflict when Narnia's 'heroes' pointing swords at each others' necks.

"Stop it!" he exclaimed, coming forward with a limp Trumpkin in his arms for Lucy to heal with her cordial. Margie was distinctly paying particular attention to her own injured arm in order to avoid her cousin's piercing gaze.

With Trumpkin healed and Caspian already disappearing into the How, Peter, Susan, and Lucy moved to follow, but the dam of quiet Kathryn's reserve broke. She was obviously not the type to say 'I told you so', but the alternative was probably worse. Caspian was lucky to have escaped before she exploded.

"He can't help his own heritage, Peter, and you know that! Every single Old Narnian seems to have figured that out but you."

"Whatever happened to loyalty, 'Warder Katarina'?" the High King spat.

"My allegiance is to Narnia, not to its ruler. Caspian has passed through a desperate road to make up for mistakes which are not his own. Why can't you see that?"

"He is a Telmarine! They burned Narnia, killed men, women, and children, and forced all of the natives to go into hiding."

"I know, Peter. I watched it happen," she hissed to his retreating back.

* * *

"This isn't the time for this conversation!" Ed growled angrily, wiping someone else's blood from his coated armor as Margie finally sat down after a regular cat-and-mouse game in her attempt to avoid Kate. The elegant woman inevitably caught up to them and instantly began yanking at the now-younger girl's greaves and ripping her bloody sleeve to reveal the nasty gash along the length of her upper arm. Margaret's battle garb was her traditional rawhide and leather skirt and top…definitely not proper armor. Between hissing through her teeth at the momentary healer's less-that-delicate cleaning of the wound, Margaret asked,

"Why isn't this a good time? When can the Just King fit his fiancé into his oh-so-busy schedule? I won't be pushed aside any more, Edmund! We used to be so close! We were going to be married and now you act like I'm a stranger!"

Ed glanced at the other woman, wishing for a little discretion in this particular conversation, but she acted as though nothing was happening, being thoroughly enthralled by the wound, with which Daisy was getting more and more annoyed.

"Margie, Narnia has made us all feel…older, I know! But don't let it get to your head. We're kids: that's a fact! Desperate lust isn't going to get you anywhere."

"Why are you acting so cold?"

"So that you don't get more hysterical! We're human beings with wills and intellects of our own, not mindless animals driven by emotion and impulse. Like I said before: if you feel so 'grown up', then start acting a little more mature rather than chasing me like rabbit. You're certainly making me feel like one."

"But the rabbit either is caught or gets away."

"At this rate, I'm certainly hoping for the latter."

"You…! How could you treat me like that?"

"I might ask the same thing…but you're so crazed by the idea of catching me that you don't remember that it was I who ultimately did the chasing last time. You're not the woman I knew and loved anymore, Margie. You're a spoiled, careless little girl with your head stuck in the clouds."

The lady's jaw dropped in shock and insult; Kathryn, finished with the bandage, sharpened one of her daggers with grating repetition. It pained Edmund to think that this was how such a once-marvelous story could end…but no story had a certain ending until the final pages were written, and theirs certainly was not finished. If the Golden Age had continued and the two lovers had married and lived happily before being torn from Narnia, the story would have been complete; not so.

"How do we know it wasn't always desperate lust?"

"Maybe it was. I'm glad we settled this. If you will excuse me, Warder Margaret, I have to get this armor off."

Cringing at what he had just done, Ed walked away, refusing to look back.

* * *

Edmund was supposedly changing out of his armor, Daisy was sulking and refusing to talk to anyone, Lucy was still healing the injured with her cordial, and Peter and Susan were off, either together or separate, brooding over the defeat, leaving Kathryn with Caspian on her conscience. She knew that he was angry over their defeat and at Peter; in fact, she could sympathize perfectly in both cases from her own experience. Caspian was just and kind; though not directly, he had saved her from Miraz; he had been there for her when she was injured; he understood what it was to feel alone; and, right now, he needed that kindred sympathy. The last time she saw him, he seemed a little more than troubled.

Just inside the room with the Stone Table, she froze. The only part of her moving was her chest, which heaved in panic. A fight commenced, but she didn't see it. It wasn't the terrifying hag or the snarling werewolf that stalled her, nor was it the black little dwarf, nor Caspian staring blankly ahead, nor Peter entrancedly standing front and center, nor the several other people fighting. Between the two pillars behind the Table was a wall of ice. In that wall was a sight she had hoped to never see again.

"Just one drop," the White Witch was saying seductively to the High King. As the hag, werewolf, and black dwarf were vanquished and the victors just began to realize what was happening before them, Jadis' gaze flickered to Kathryn and her smile became more inviting than ever. Rather than actually hearing the woman's next words, the glaring Warder perceived them echoing in her mind. _'Perhaps I will let you sit at our feet, pretty one.'_

"No!"

Kate's uncharacteristic scream was accompanied by a loud cracking sound that grabbed everyone's attention. With the Witch's dying cry, the ice shattered, revealing Edmund with his sword still held in its stabbing position. The younger boy disappointedly stared at his recovering brother, breaking the uncomfortable silence with,

"I know. 'I had it sorted'."

The room began emptying, with Trumpkin, Edmund, and Daisy dragging the dead opponents out, Lucy nursing a pulled muscle, and Susan unhappily storming to the exit, leaving Peter, Caspian, and Kathryn to stare at the carved mural of a Lion directly behind where the shield of ice had been. The one thing good about the situation seemed to be that the two leaders apparently found a kindred spirit in their joint weakness to the drawing of Jadis.

The woman had an urge to somehow encourage the young men, but an unidentified feeling deep within her ultimately motivated her to leave the room as well.

* * *

Kathryn tried to smirk at Peter's shocked look when he discovered his sword to be missing from where it had previously been leaning against the wall in the small room where exhaustion had taken its victim as he bolted out of bed, but she could only grimace at the guilt beginning to bubble up past her hate.

"I don't think this is your room," his voice like warm honey lightly pointed out.

She looked up, suddenly realizing how horrible she felt, though Peter's still-miffed look told her that it didn't show. The grouchy glint in his bleary eyes told her that her just-noticed presence momentarily took up most of his thoughts. After staring at his unwelcoming countenance for a few seconds, she set the sword back down, shaking her head, and turned towards the door of the closet-sized room.

"I'm sorry…I should not have come here."

"What do you want…Katarina?"

The use of that name sounded like an accusation.

"Please, Peter…don't call me that. It's not…not me."

Kathryn's own words and emotions startled her. She felt so guilty and vulnerable when all she had known for more than a thousand years was hate and sorrow. Many men had caught her eye as attractive physically and mentally, but only Peter could render her helpless on her own turf.

"You literally try to kill, slap me, and now everything's fine and dandy, huh?" he drawled, holding his head exhaustedly in his hands as he slouched on the edge of the cot. His desperation for renewing their lost relationship seemed all but gone, as did his unbeatable strength of the Golden Age. "Kate, I know that it's been quite a long time, but you can't expect me to come chasing after you again after giving me so clear a message."

A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes, firing up the woman's anger once more. How dare he assume to have such a forgiving situation! She had given her blood and soul for Narnia while he mourned of his little plights as a schoolboy! How dare he take her for granted like that!

"You think you can kiss me one time and you can do whatever you want with my heart…cut it, fold it, twist it until I can feel nothing but the pain…well, you deserve congratulations then. You succeeded in that! But I am the one who faced a thousand years of struggle and tears to protect this country only to have it fall to pieces before my eyes. I am the one with the guilt of a land on my shoulders. Over the centuries, I heard tales of the bravery and perfection of the Golden Age under its Kings and Queens, while the stories about me increasingly spoke of shadows and failure…but it was my own condemnation upon myself which holds my soul in a deadly grip.

"You promised that you would never leave this all to me and you broke that promise, Peter. You broke your promise and my heart. How dare you expect me to come to you smiling as if nothing ever happened to deter me and no time passed for my feelings to fester. I don't know whether to slice your head clean off and be done with it or to kiss you and never let you go. I'm torn, Peter, and I feel helpless to do anything about it!"

During the fierce dialogue of the broken-hearted girl, Peter's countenance changed from angry to mortified to sadly defeated. Following a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the High King stood, tenderly looking straight into her eyes.

"I have spent the past year and a half angry at myself for leaving. When it came down to it, though, I just…I had hoped that nothing had changed, only to find that everything has. Sorry won't make up for a thousand years of loneliness, will it?"

Tears welled up, despite a set jaw, and she shook her, slowly reaching to touch his cheek. Peter took her cold hand in his warm one and kissed her forehead gently, their locked eyes telling more to each other about their trials and feelings than words could have ever described.

Bending her head to lean against his shoulder, Kathryn whispered,

"I am tired…tired of hiding and leading and defending what cannot be protected."

"Can't you come back with me?"

"Back to…England? What is there for me there, now? This is my home, no matter what ideas fly by in flashes of wish and want. I'm sorry that I resented you."

"I'm sorry I left."

As the lovers stood quietly, taking in the comfort of each others' presence in the dark cave, neither noticed the great figure standing outside the doorway in shadows; the hidden Lion nodded approvingly, breathing warmly into the open room.

Minutes later, she lifted her head.

"You should get your rest. I still have to find Margaret if we're going to make it."

"Make it for what?"

"Attacking the castle didn't work, Peter, and we now know that there are still ancient evils ready to offer temptation and false hope. If we can find Aslan before it's too late, then perhaps we can rectify this whole disaster."

"What do you mean 'before it's too late'?" he questioned crossly softly gripping her shoulders.

"For all my blind faith…Peter, I have not seen or heard from Aslan any more recently than you. When I say that I was left to tend Narnia alone, I meant it. I have to find Him." Licking her lips, she looked into his eyes one more time. "I do love you, Peter, but we have a lot of ground to cover before our slate is clean."

* * *

Wearing a simple, tightly long-sleeved, V-neck maroon dress, Margaret was sitting at the highest point of the How, picking at the moss on the rocky ground in a failing attempt to distract her from the formerly suppressed tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. People always told her that things became easier with time. If that was the case, then why did this whole situation seem to only get more painful and complicated with that 'easing' time? Everything in the present seemed bitter and foggy, but memories were sweet and clear.

Looking into the steep incline below her, the thought of whether Edmund would even care if she fell was only a flicker which dug up even more remembrances. She was beyond that…because of him. Everything she was…it was all because of him.

_Before Daisy could follow, Ed fiercely grabbed her arm, making her turn and study the red mark forming on his cheek._

_"Why didn't you help?"_

_She smirked during her reply._

_"Can't you stand up for yourself?"_

_"You couldn't stand up for __him__?" he whispered harshly, pointing at the Fox._

_"Ed, can't you see that that midget helped them get away?"_

_"That's the point."_

_Suddenly, the boy was trying to be practical!_

_"When they get to Aslan, war will start, a bunch of people will die, and we may never get back to home and a normal life!"_

_"But, in helping the Witch, you are ruining every chance of their being safe. All she wants to do is kill us, Peter, Susan, Lucy, __and__ Kate and rule Narnia forever! I already helped her. The least you could do is not make it worse."_

_"I'm not making it worse!"_

_"Well, if you consider losing every chance we have of ever seeing our families alive again not making it worse, you're doing a fantastic job."_

_Daisy's next action even surprised herself. With a cry of anger, she lashed out and punched the other child right in the mouth. She was practically speechless._

_"Ed, I…I…"_

_"Don't worry about it," he cut in, a victorious look flashing into his eyes even as he moved back towards the sled with a hand against his jaw. "At least you're not making things worse."_

_SSSSS_

_Her finger moved for the trigger._

_Slowly, she began to press down on the lever._

_"Margie?"_

_Daisy nearly leaped out of her skin. The gun flew from her hand and landed safely in the moss nearby, while she herself jerked around to face the boy leaning against the tree behind her._

_"Ed! How did you find me?" she demanded hoarsely._

_He shifted his eyes uncertainly, then had the nerve to purse his lips as if it was the most obvious thing in the world!_

_"I couldn't sleep and went on a walk in the woods. You were sobbing loud enough to catch a mule's attention."_

_The girl bitterly put a hand to her face, just realizing that she had actually been crying._

_"What do you want?"_

_His bark of a laugh was almost too much humiliation to bear in one night. Again, the gun seemed tempting._

_"What do I want? Well, as a start, I'd like to know what a teenage girl is doing by herself in the woods in the middle of the night with a gun to her own head."_

_She bit her lip._

_"I don't deserve to live. After all I've done…I hurt everyone I ever cared about, Ed! My parents are dead! I'm the reason Kate is haunted by that nickname: Thai. I called her that at school to impress the other girls…and it stuck. I was always jealous of her, for some reason I can't even remember, since she wasn't even popular, thanks to me. I practically jumped into the Witch's lap with everything I knew about you guys. And now, because of me, the most remarkable Creature I have ever met is going to die."_

_Edmund looked slightly taken aback by the last few words, but it didn't seem to faze him for long._

_"Margie, you aren't the only one who's been horrible to people. The past year, I've been nothing but a pain and a burden to my family. My father's in the War. And…I was even more eager than you to help the Witch, believe it or not. Whatever Aslan traded to save you was just as much because of me. Letting His sacrifice be for nothing is not really much of a thank you. Running won't change what has happened. All we can do is recover what we can."_

_The boy's words rolled around in Daisy's mind until she came to the conclusion that he was right. Aslan's sacrifice would be for naught if she turned tail and ran from what she feared. Now that she thought of it, what was she thinking?_

_Slowly, she nodded her head._

_"Kate would kill me if did something that stupid." As he picked up the discarded weapon, Ed smirked obviously. "What?"_

_"The safety wasn't even off."_

_SSSSS_

_Suddenly, the weapon was knocked out of her hand, followed by the rest of her being knocked to the ground. A terrifying sight stood over her, ready to finish the victim._

_"This could have been avoided," the Witch stated with fake regret. "You receive what you deserve."_

_Jadis lifted her wand to strike and Daisy lifted her arm in vain to ward off the inevitable…but a body collided with the enemy, delaying death…sweet, quick death._

_Soon, she realized that her rescuer was actually Edmund. While he had instantly destroyed the wand, he was taking quite the beating to what could only end as a disastrous outcome; it happened._

_"Edmund!"_

_SSSSS_

_Margaret threw her head back in the wind caused by her horse's galloping on the sand and giggled at the rush of air teasing her hair. More than a decade had passed since the Golden Age began and everything was just…perfect._

_Halting her majestic chestnut steed, the Warder hopped down and ran to the water, lifting her riding skirt of scattered brown and white soft linen. The rest of dress, including the long sleeves and V-neck bodice, was styled to fit closely for riding. The Just King swept her up in his arms and twirled her around, sending the shallow water flying, before he set her gently back on her feet. She was still laughing, with the descending sun glowing against her wavy brown hair, when his regal countenance suddenly became a little more serious._

"_Margie, I have something to ask of you. I have thought about it tirelessly and I have decided."_

_She scrunched her nose teasingly until he dropped to his knee in the wet sand; then, her held skirts were allowed to fall to the water as she held her breath._

"_Ask away, Your Majesty."_

_He took her hands and kissed them tenderly, while she was enthralled by his expressive eyes._

"_Over the years, I have watched you become the gentle, strong, caring woman that any man would dream of. Will you marry me?"_

"_Edmund…I…of course!" _

"Margaret?"

Daisy turned to discover her estranged cousin kneeling behind her, wearing her usual flowing style of a forest green, swoop-necked dress, her greaves and weapons, and a leather pack. Oddly, Kathryn was smiling for once and had an air of peace about her, unlike the now-younger girl.

"What, Kate…Katarina…whoever you are?"

"You can call me Kate." With a slightly bigger smile, the dark-haired maiden rose and offered a hand to the mourning lady. "Come on, Dais. Let's go find Aslan."

I know it may seem like I'm doing an awful lot of Kathryn's (versus Margaret's) point of view, lately (at least it does to me); however, there will be more focus on Daisy's problems after 'Prince Caspian'. Thanks for reading and please review!


	21. Duels

Thanks princess emma of narnia, Ella Unlimited, LucyOfNarnia, and XxNarniaxXxSkanderxX for your reviews!

My dear wonderful readers, for those of you who are religious, I ask you to add my beloved grandmother, who died last night, to your prayers. She was an amazing woman with a kind heart, a sense of justice that would shame a sheriff, and one heck of a stubborn streak. This chapter is dedicated to her.

Willie Nelson's "Always on My Mind" is for scene 4 and Beyonce's "Broken-Hearted Girl" is with scene 6...

Duels

"How can you know?" Peter quietly asked his youngest sister, who had just returned to the room after the oddity of the Witch. The High King still sat staring at the Lion carving in the back of the room, trying to glean some sort of wisdom from the dead rock.

"What do you mean?"

"To have seen Him… I wish He would just give me some sort of proof."

"Maybe we are the ones who need to prove ourselves to Him."

A moment later, someone came storming in to announce Miraz's approach.

* * *

"**Peter, by the gift of Aslan, by election, by prescription, and by conquest, High King over all Kings in Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Island and Lord of Cair Paravel, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion, to Miraz, Son of Caspian the Eighth, sometime Lord Protector of Narnia and now styling himself King of Narnia, Greeting.**

"**For to prevent the effusion of blood, and for the avoiding of all other inconveniences likely to grow from the wars now levied in our realm of Narnia, it is our pleasure to adventure our royal person on behalf of our trusty and well-beloved Caspian in clean wager of battle to prove upon your Lordship's body that the said Caspian is lawful King under us in Narnia both by our gift and by the laws of the Telmarines, and your Lordship twice guilty of treachery both in withholding the dominion of Narnia from the said Caspian and in the most abhominable, bloody, and unnatural murder of your kindly lord and brother King Caspian Ninth of that name. **

"**Wherefore we most heartily provoke, challenge, and defy your Lordship to the said combat and monomachy, and have sent these letters by the hand of our well-beloved and royal brother Edmund, sometime King under us in Narnia, Duke of Lantern Waste and Count of the Western March, Knight of the Noble Order of the Table, to whom we have given full power of determining with your Lordship all the conditions of the said battle. Given at our lodging in Aslan's How this XII day of the month Greenroof in the first year of Casian Tenth of Narnia.**"

Edmund looked up confidently from the parchment, noting with amusement the lords' alternating anger, fright, and confusion as they sat at their giant table, high and mighty, trying to decide how to respond to such a proposal. It wasn't every day that the High King from the past sent an invitation like this. As a matter of fact, Ed himself looked very much the threatening warrior himself after being in the reviving atmosphere of Narnia for so long.

They squabbled among themselves for several minutes, shamelessly suggesting to their 'king' that he refuse the duel, regardless of the obvious disgrace, being all declared 'cowards' for the very idea.

At long last, Miraz submitted to dueling with Peter later that day and the Just King left to deliver the news with wary satisfaction.

* * *

Margaret hadn't said a word since her cousin had dragged her off of the hill that morning, but she scowled at Kathryn's straight back as if it all was her fault, regardless. It annoyed her to no end how mature and wise the other Warder seemed to be, while she had so recently been shirked on the very humiliating grounds of her own silliness and stupidity. Finally sick of the never-ending silence, which Kate seemed perfectly content to leave as it was, Daisy groaned,

"According to you, you haven't seen Aslan in years…so, how are you supposed to know where we'll find him? Or was the 'let's go find Aslan' thing just a front to go have some quality time with your long-lost cousin?" The taller female in the elegant green gown (which was terribly unfit for a forest walk, though it seemed natural for her…Daisy herself had changed into a more close-fitting, woolen brown dress) only glanced back with an indecipherable look. "Come on, now! I don't like never-ending silence. The most quiet I ever get is the clanking of metal when I'm tinkering." Still no reply. "Hey! You may not be dead, but your amount speech tells me otherwise. What, are we lost?"

"No."

Daisy stopped short.

"She speaks! That's a shock." Suddenly, the girl looked down at the multiple tracks on the ground and folded her arms. "You're right; we're not lost. You are just leading me in circles. You weren't taking us to Aslan. You just wanted me away from everyone else. How noble and self-sacrificing of you, oh great and powerful Katarina: the lonely Warder." The woman with the black mane shocked her by suddenly storming to a nearby ravine and seemingly walking on air to reach the other side. "Wait a second! How did you…?" The taller one glowered as she turned back, still standing on nothing.

"What?"

"You…walking on air…"

The glare stayed.

"It's magic. Or have you forgotten where you are?"

"No, no, no… It must be some sort of force field…but what could possibly be generating energy like that for…?"

"Silence!" Kathryn hissed abruptly. "There is no fancy science involved here. It's magic, not one of your home trinkets. Some of us still have faith in the wonders of Narnia and Aslan."

"A thousand years and you're still living on blind faith. Don't tell me you haven't ever asked questions about how things really work on the technical level, Kate! We live in a world of inquiry and discovery."

"Not here. We still believe in powers greater than us and I took you out here to show you _my_ world, not yours."

Margaret gestured helplessly.

"You poor thing. Having a pity party now, are we? All I see is trees, death, and a certain haunting quality that sends chills down my spine. It's nothing like what I used to know. If that's what you wanted me to see, you didn't have to make me get my boots muddy to do it. I wanted to come back, but this madness isn't what I ever wanted. I want to remember the Golden Age and all of the love and lightheartedness that came with it, not this."

"Then forget it! Forget me! Forget all of this! You are so selfish…you would never be able to do what I've done, seen what I've seen, and been through…" Watery eyes ruined her stoic face. "Some people think that I am crazy, Margaret. Sometimes…I thought I was crazy, too. When you are on your own like that for so long, outliving everyone you care about, you tend to see their faces when you look in a mirror or turn a corner. You left and went back to your cozy little world and you can't even stand this place for a few days! You are so selfish that you would never be able to do this!" Margie's anger was boiling, but the other woman went on. "I'm slipping, Daisy. The girl I was is rearing her head and struggling against the senseless woman I became over the years. You think that a few hours of silence is terrible…try a thousand years of loneliness."

Daisy growled at the mixed emotions whirling around in her head, eventually settling on going in the opposite direction of her peculiar cousin, who continued her rampage through the forest.

* * *

Peter stared with dread at the man he was about to face as they approached the stone square. Nearing the platform, he finally looked to his brother, asking,

"Why did Kathryn and Margaret have to leave now, of all times?"

The younger boy rolled his eyes.

"They left to find Aslan, like _you_ said…which brings to mind: why did Susan and Lucy have to run off after Him too? Lucy is still out there."

"Kate was taking too long," he growled, making sure that his armor was secure.

"There is still time to surrender," Miraz addressed him.

"Well, feel free."

"How many more have to die for the throne?"

"Just one."

As the duel began, Peter was somewhat surprised by the tyrant's agility, despite the heavy armor he wore, though his thoughts were also very much occupied by Kathryn and her reasoning for their dialogue the previous night.

_"You think you can kiss me one time and you can do whatever you want with my heart…cut it, fold it, twist it until I can feel nothing but the pain…well, you deserve congratulations then. You succeeded in that! But I am the one who faced a thousand years of struggle and tears to protect this country only to have it fall to pieces before my eyes. I am the one with the guilt of a land on my shoulders. Over the centuries, I heard tales of the bravery and perfection of the Golden Age under its Kings and Queens, while the stories about me increasingly spoke of shadows and failure…but it was my own condemnation upon myself which holds my soul in a deadly grip._

_"You promised that you would never leave this all to me and you broke that promise, Peter. You broke your promise and my heart. How dare you expect me to come to you smiling as if nothing ever happened to deter me and no time passed for my feelings to fester. I don't know whether to slice your head clean off and be done with it or to kiss you and never let you go. I'm torn, Peter, and I feel helpless to do anything about it!"_

_During the fierce dialogue of the broken-hearted girl, Peter's countenance changed from angry to mortified to sadly defeated. Following a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the High King stood, tenderly looking straight into her eyes._

_"I have spent the past year and a half angry at myself for leaving. When it came down to it, though, I just…I had hoped that nothing had changed, only to find that everything has. Sorry won't make up for a thousand years of loneliness, will it?"_

_Tears welled up, despite a set jaw, and she shook her, slowly reaching to touch his cheek. Peter took her cold hand in his warm one and kissed her forehead gently, their locked eyes telling more to each other about their trials and feelings than words could have ever described._

_Bending her head to lean against his shoulder, Kathryn whispered,_

_"I am tired…tired of hiding and leading and defending what cannot be protected."_

_"Can't you come back with me?"_

_"Back to…England? What is there for me there, now? This is my home, no matter what ideas fly by in flashes of wish and want. I'm sorry that I resented you."_

_"I'm sorry I left."_

Frankly, regardless of the woman's renewed affection and forgiveness, Peter still felt terrible for disappearing all those years ago. The idea of time passing so much faster in Narnia than on Earth hadn't even touched his thoughts. While he had been happily assuming that only a year and a half had mutually passed during their parting, she had spent more than a thousand years struggling to live and protect Narnia, with time feeding her hate and sorrow. No wonder she had felt so abandoned!

Landing on his back, the young man cried out in pain as the combination of Miraz's foot and his own shielded arm dislocated his shoulder. His life, all of the joy and guilt, seemed to crash in on him as the self-proclaimed king's eyes shown with self-assurance. Despite the agony, he managed to get up and fight on for another moment before finally calling for a time out.

Again he looked to his brother as the Just King examined his injury.

"What do you suppose happens back home if you die here? I mean…when Kathryn stayed, everyone who had never been to Narnia before just forgot her."

While the High King was distracted, Ed took the opportunity and suddenly popped his shoulder back into place with a resounding crunch, gave a disturbingly cryptic answer, and pushed Peter back up, soon recommencing the fight.

Despite everything, he vividly remembered cornering a dear friend to find out what sort of ring to fashion for the woman he loved, having planned on proposing to her long before either displayed too much affection other than of friendship; however, something about Ed and Daisy's engagement had made something fall into place in his life, making him realize how incomplete he always felt without Kate by his side.

Finally, Peter gained the upper hand and sent Miraz to his knees, holding his sword pointed at the cruel man's neck. It was by this person's orders that Kathryn had been locked up and tortured only a few days prior, and only hours after awakening, but he stayed his hand.

"What's the matter, boy? Too cowardly to take a life?" the 'king' spat.

"It's not mine to take," the boy replied calmly, walking to the side, handing the weapon to Caspian, and going to retrieve his recently discarded sword before standing beside his sibling to watch the outcome of the prince's revenge.

What if the reason for Kathryn's delay was the consequence of somethings terrible happening to her out in the forest? He hadn't even had the chance to tell her how much he truly loved her or how she had filled his thoughts every single day during their parting. Despite her anger and assumptions that he didn't care, he never stopped cherishing the memory of the lilac scent of her silken hair, the gentle cooing sound of her voice, and the softness of her skin as he held her in his arms so long ago.

It was those memories that always kept him level-headed. His only comfort was the knowledge that he was the only one able to reach that tender soul of hers beneath the warrior, though that shell had hardened more than ever; that marvelous singularity had nearly been threatened by Caspian's charity, but he knew that there was nothing really to worry about.

The future monarch lifted the knife high, ready to plunge it into the traitor's heart when said traitor spoke.

"Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe you do have the makings of a Telmarine King after all."

The statement had the opposite affect that Miraz had apparently anticipated. With a ferocious yell, Caspian stabbed the sword into the ground, hissing,

"Not one like you. Keep your life, but I am giving the Narnians back their kingdom."

Peter gazed at the prince, suddenly having significant approval of this royal foreigner as the Narnians cheered for their just prince and their kingly victor, but the admiration didn't last long.

Somehow, the Telmarines cheated. Before they knew it, Miraz was face down on the ground with one of Susan's arrows sticking out his back and the Telmarine leaders were shouting 'treachery'!

* * *

"Aslan!" Lucy cried, racing to the huge Lion.

* * *

A woodpecker tapped away incessantly, the grating noise vibrating against the eardrums of any creature within hearing range. In reality, however, there wasn't a woodpecker anywhere near the area.

With a tense jaw, the raven-haired Warder stared angrily at her metallic armguard, tapping furiously at the hard surface with one of her newly self-repairing fingernails. Something in the back of her mind kept taunting her with terrifying elusiveness, like an itch directly in the middle of her back. With twitchy paranoia, she jerked her head towards the sound of a mouse scurrying through the underbrush. Memories flickered through mind in random clusters.

_"Get out! Run, Kate!" the lighter brunette called, getting out of the car and grabbing her cousin as she headed for shelter._

_"Stop!"_

_SSSSS_

_"You're not alone," Susan cooed. "We're all here. And you'll get to see your parents when you get back home."_

_Kate shook head quickly._

_"They're gone. My parents are…dead."_

_Susan turned on a seemingly numb Daisy with fire in her eyes._

_"But you said…"_

_"I lied," the subject of accusation stated coldly. "Her dad and my parents were…killed in a bomb strike last week. We're here because we probably won't have much of a home to go back to."_

_"Yes, we will!" Kate suddenly hissed, raising her tear-stained face defiantly. "Aunt Polly will take care of us."_

_"Since when did __Grandma__ take care of us? All she's done is ship us to the middle of nowhere to get over everything and move on."_

_"What about Kate's mum?" Ed interjected unexpectedly._

_"Three years ago, she was killed in the crossfire of a downtown shooting. It seems the wide open country isn't enough to get her mind off of things."_

_SSSSS_

_"__None of this would have happened if Peter had never left."_

_The centaur barely hesitated in pressing a question._

_"__Do you hate him?"_

_Steam should have been coming from her ears. Lightening bolts should have been leaping from her eyes._

_"__My duty may be to Narnia, my loyalties to Aslan, and my love to these people…but my hate has grown through the centuries. A broken heart cannot be mended when the cost of the needle and thread is the safety of a world. The pieces of my heart remain in Narnia, however I may have once wished for more. I only regret that he never…"_

_SSSSS_

_Thank you for waiting with me, Madame," the girl said, cocking her head timidly._

_"My pleasure, Kathryn. Just remember to stay on your toes."_

_They giggled together, completely contrasting the stern matron and frightened student from earlier. In reality, the Madame spoiled the misfit with particularly tough training and homemade cookies._

_SSSSS_

_"Sorry," the boy muttered, removing himself from the darkness to sit cross-legged on the other side of the creek. "I…couldn't sleep."_

_"So, you are human." He nearly gaped. His expression must have been quite priceless as she allowed herself a quiet giggle. "Honestly, I was quite worried; boy of prophecy, Knight of Narnia, and soon to be King... It definitely holds potential for getting a big head."_

_"I'm not the only one in prophecy."_

_"But I am not fated to be a monarch," she smartly shot back._

_"Aslan showed great concern for you and your cousin. You obviously have something big in store for you."_

_SSSSS_

_"__I would never leave you to study dusty maps and tomes on your own. I give you my word."_

_"__I will hold you to that," she whispered, not in the least flustered and leaning her head against his chest._

_SSSSS_

_"I wish I could get you, birdie, but I can't climb up there and the tree won't just bend down for me to help you."_

_SSSSS_

_"Where __were__ you, Peter? I put all my trust in you and you threw it away like it was nothing just when I you needed most!"_

_SSSSS_

_"I do love you, Peter, but we have a lot of ground to cover before our slate is clean."_

_SSSSS_

_"…And when Adam's bone answers the call,_

_Forever may Narnia all_

_Its enemies in vain enthrall."_

_SSSSS_

_"After all these years, my dear Mr. Tumnus, I would have expected you to retire or die off by now like everyone else," she said with a hushed tone._

_The faun scoffed, tapping his cane hard against the marble floor._

_"I will ignore that comment, young miss. Without me, this country would fall apart at the seams. You won't get rid of me too soon."_

_"I do not doubt it." His humor subsided as his gaze fell upon the open containers. "Haven't those sat around collecting dust long enough?"_

_SSSSS_

_"Up on your toes, Kathryn."_

_SSSSS_

_"__I'm Kathryn…but my friends call me Kate," she said quietly. "You must be one of the new people Mrs. Macready was grumbling about this morning."_

_The boy smiled warmly, but sadly, and laughed. Though Kate wasn't normally the type to act too rashly...normally...she honestly wanted to melt._

_"__I suppose so. I'm Peter, by the way."_

_The calming tenor voice perfectly matched his appearance. _

_"__A pleasure."_

_SSSSS_

_Is love supposed to drive you mad?_

"Lovely area, isn't it?" a rich voice questioned. Kathryn whipped her head around to discover a long-limbed young man with golden hair and eyes directly above her, crouching on the lowest limb nearly ten feet up. "They once said that the forests of Narnia were the most elegant and peaceful places in any land or any world. But I don't really think this is the time for sight-seeing, Warder Katarina…or…whatever your name is."

He waved off the guess as if it didn't matter in the least, smirking handsomely.

The transforming Eagle meanwhile hopped down from the tree, which was quivering with life along with its fellow shrubs.

"Is there something you wanted?" Kate mumbled, not frightened at all by the two-handed sword at the man's side, which he caressed too fondly.

"The Narnians need our help," Aida broke in, dragging a very-unwilling Daisy through the bushes towards the other two. The youngest girl puckered her lower lip and sat down on a root with a huff, allowing a scowling Aida to focus on the more experienced of the two. "Kathryn, Peter and Miraz dueled…but the Telmarines are treacherous and I fear that a battle may be occurring even now. It's a battle that the Old Narnians aren't even close to being prepared for. They need their Warders…now."

Something akin to admiration showed in the male's glowing eyes for his fellow creature.

Kathryn looked at her cousin.

"Can we put aside our quarrels long enough to save this little country?"

Margaret pursed her lips prior to replying, rising from her slump.

"I may be 'selfish and unable to go through what you've been through', but I am still a Warder of Narnia, too, cousin."

With their differences momentarily settled, the archer, with hands resting on her long daggers, and the blade-dancer, limply holding the handle of her sword, went forward, accompanied by a tall beau, a dusty-haired huntress, and a whole army of awakened trees.

She had finally resigned herself to the madness that was her royal romance. She hated Peter with a passion, but her love for him was ever-lasting. He had always been the only one she felt safe and open with, but Caspian had showed her that she wasn't utterly a rock wall with his kindness. She owed him her life. She wanted to go back to Earth and spend her life with Peter, but there was nothing for her there; she was nothing but a dream back there and her duty was to Narnia.

Little did anyone know that she always had stood near him after battles and horse rides, not for the generally assumed reason that she was one of his commanders, but because she wanted to be near the scent of pine and spices that always radiated off of him then. They wouldn't guess that she always tried to be around when he visited with people who possessed exceptional humor only to hear his rich laugh. Would that ever be true again?

Thanks for reading and please review! I apologize if the part of Peter and Miraz's duel was not very specific, but I'm relying on YouTube for my movie references and that particular bit decided that it didn't want to show.


	22. Have You Ever Seen the Rain

Thanks MaryandMerlin, princess emma of narnia, and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!

Plumb's "You Will be Safe in my Arms" is for scene 1 and Christina Aguilera's "You Lost Me" is w/ scene 3…

Have You Ever Seen the Rain…

"One…two…"

The swarming cavalry of the enemy narrowed the space between the two armies, but he still stood stock-still.

"Three…four…"

The odds against the Old Narnians was overwhelming, but he made no move to retreat.

"Five…six…"

Sweat made the High King's hair stick to his forehead with apprehension and fear of Lucy failing to find Aslan, but he kept counting.

"Seven…eight…"

The ground shook under the distant horses' hooves, but he didn't flinch.

"Nine… Get ready!"

Within seconds, the earth beneath the attacking enemy began collapsing, giving the Narnian archers the opportunity to shoot the bewildered Telmarines.

As Caspian emerged behind the foe from the hidden underground ramps with his half of the army, initiating the charge, Peter's thoughts remained on his family...and Kathryn. There seemed to be only two people over whom he felt the most protective; those two were Lucy and, of course, Kate. With the whole thousand-year situation, he felt like he had failed to keep the latter safe to a terribly great extent. With Lucy now on the brink of missing with her delay in returning, he feared that he would do the same to one of the other people he cared about the most.

He always had tried to be there for his youngest sister, especially when their father was fighting in the War, but circumstances had made that nearly impossible. Strong, sweet Lucy was always faced with the hardest tasks, opposed by her siblings constantly in her endless faith in Aslan, and put in the most difficult positions, no matter how hard he tried to prevent that. She was so young, yet so mature, at the same time. While he knew that Kathryn could survive on her own…overall…he dreaded the day when his favorite family member found her limit, however flexible and resilient she was.

Peter didn't know how long exactly the battle had raged on, but the Telmarine cavalry was dispatched soon enough with a relatively painless amount of fighting, despite the raining rocks thrown by the catapults. The sight of the rest of the deceased Miraz's army, which made the initial detachment of riders seem puny, put a damper on any thoughts of victory. The King looked up to the cliff where his sister stood for any hint of Lucy's return, but she shook her head with knowing frustration. Fully aware that his little army couldn't last even an hour against frightening mass, he turned back towards the hill and yelled,

"Back to the How!"

His hope to buy time for Aslan's arrival was strangled as the catapults targeted their refuge. The stone entrance consequently caved in, blocking their escape and killing several Narnians in the passageway, and the rock directly under Susan's feet gave way; her fall was only halted by Trumpkin and a nearby ledge. After seeing that the Gentle Queen was safe, both Peter and Caspian, who had joined him, turned back to the struggling Narnians and drew their swords.

With Edmund, Susan, and the prince at his side, the High King led a final desperate charge.

He didn't know how long they fought. All he did was block, parry, stab, drop, roll, slice, jump, stab again…and again, and again. All he saw was blood, turning the grass crimson, causing him to occasionally slip, and coating the fur, skin, and armor of every creature on that wretched field. All he heard was the dying shrieks which always haunted his dreams, the clash of the steal, and his own heaving breathing. All he smelled was the pungent odors of blood and sweat.

All he felt was the throbbing of his on-the-spot repaired dislocated shoulder, the sting of a few cuts from his numerous near-misses, and the gnawing guilt of the great possibility that he may have failed Narnia and the hope of all the people who had always trusted in him…fatally, this time. All he thought about was the safety of those he cared about. It pained him to catch glimpses of his brother and sister constantly in peril of being killed and not knowing the fate of Lucy, Daisy, and Kathryn. If something happened to any of them, he would never forgive himself.

Would help ever come?

* * *

Caspian stared dumbfounded at the spot from where the…thing had just come to kill an opponent who had almost killed him…who happened to be one of the Miraz's generals. He didn't move until the High King helped him out of the giant ditch. It was then that he saw the Trees. A whole forest of the giant brambles was attacking the Telmarines, flinging them through the air. Peter, while obviously shocked, still acted as though trees coming to life and slaughtering soldiers was an ordinary thing; Caspian, on the other hand, had never seen something like this in his life! Trees were things to sit under on a hot day and cut down for firewood…not allies in battle!

The other young man noticed his bewilderment and offered a simple answer:

"Lucy."

The Trees continued their rampage, snapping the catapults like twigs, and the Narnian monarchs were once again confident enough to lead a charge.

The Telmarines quickly fled to the river, but stopped at the bridge. The prince's returning confusion as he and his companions halted directly behind their opponents was answered by the presence of someone on the other side of the connection: Lucy.

The small girl fearlessly stood her ground, coyly drawing her little dagger and soon being joined by a huge, terrifying lion. Trapped between two peculiar people and an entire army of Trees and Narnians, the men began crossing the river, both wading and using the bridge. The poor future king was once more shocked when the water rose up into the form of a monstrous man, tore apart the bridge, and forced the Telmarines to return to shore to face the judgment of the Narnians.

As the enemy's surrender was being taken care of and the Pevensies crossed the river to meet the Lion, the prince espied three women and a man emerging from the trees behind him. Kathryn, Margaret, Aida, and Cadal were all covered in the blood of their foes and their hands were casually resting on the blades at their sides. Neither of the Warders seemed very happy, despite the great victory. They seemed more…disappointed. The women had come charging into battle with the Trees and transforming Birds. Now, the four seemed as casual as could be.

Catching up with his royal companions while the Telmarines continued surrendering their weapons, Caspian couldn't help but stare in awe at the great Lion who had commanded the undying loyalty and faith of the Narnian hearts. His own heart quivered with fear and relief as he knelt.

"Rise, Kings and Queens of Narnia." Knowing that he was unworthy, the prince remained on his knee. "…all of you."

He looked up in shock.

"I do not think I am ready."

"It is for that very reason I know you are."

Standing, Caspian suddenly realized why everyone held such esteem for Aslan.

At that moment, the troop of Mice arrived, carrying their fallen leader, whom Lucy willing healed with her cordial.

"Oh! Hail, Aslan!" the humbled Reepicheep said with characteristic grandeur. "It is a great honor to be, oh…!" The gallant little speech was cut off as the poor creature realized his missing tail with horror. "Oh, I am completely out of countenance! I must crave your indulgence for appearing in this unseemly fashion." He then looked to Lucy, almost begging, "Uh…perhaps a drop more?"

"I don't think it does that," she replied apologetically.

"You can have a go!"

The Lion laughed before breaking into the Mouse's desperation.

"It becomes you well, small one."

"All the same, great King," it answered, presenting his sword, "I regret that I must withdraw, for a tail is the honor and glory of a Mouse."

"Perhaps you think too much of your honor, friend."

"Well, it's not just the honor…it's also great for balance…and climbing…and grabbing things."

"May it please, your High Majesty," another Mouse broke in, leading his companions in drawing their weapons, "we will not bear the shame of wearing an honor denied to our chief."

The Lion laughed again in good-humored defeat.

"Not for the sake of your dignity, but for the love of your people."

After the Mouse's tail was magically replaced, the group was then thoroughly amused by Trumpkin's intro to Aslan before they parted ways.

Though Margaret stormed off before he could reach the duo of Warders, who had both stood to the side of the encounter in respectful silence, Caspian took the opportunity to approach the woman who had practically started this entire adventure for him. Kneeling on the gravely sand at the water's edge, Kathryn gently washed away the blood from her face and hands.

"Are you all right?"

Resting her hands on her lap, she slowly replied,

"I am better than I thought I would be. I am still trying to decipher what my feelings towards Peter are, but I'm getting there."

The man chuckled, bending down to playfully splash the too-serious legend with water before pointing to the small cut on her cheek.

"I was speaking of your physical well-being at the moment, but we can speak of other matters if you like. I find it amazing that you came out of the battle nearly unscathed."

Katarina laughed in realization.

"A thousand years of experience can give you a few advantages. Still, though…there is something about Peter's presence that makes me much more…confident." Caspian was surprised when her hand reached for his. "I'm sorry. I'm taking advantage of your charity."

"Charity? I would think that a legend wasting her time with me was charity on her part. I and every other Narnian would be more than willing to do anything you ask just because of who and what you are."

"I don't need slaves, Prince," she scolded, suddenly holding his loose hand a little tighter. "I could use a friend, though. It gets lonely being a legend, sometimes, and I don't think the other ancient folks will be around for much longer."

The boy smiled obligingly.

"I would be honored…and I will probably be in dire need of a friend in the near future, as well."

With renewed vigor, Kathryn stood quickly, pulling him up with her.

"Well, friend, at least I am now confident that I have you. We'll see about the High King, though."

"It seems more simple that you may think. Do you love him?"

"It's not about whether I love him. There are so many things that have made it all…"

"It is very simple. Now, as your future king, I ask you: Do you love him?"

The girl bit her lip thoughtfully.

"…yes."

* * *

Straightening her gorgeous purple gown with elegant long sleeves, Daisy cleared her throat again and wandered back over to the table for her third glass of punch. Avoiding Edmund the Just during the entire coronation and resulting celebration was tiring work, especially when he seemed to appear everywhere she went, though she had been so far successful. Suddenly getting an amazing idea of leaving the party completely, she turned to head for the probably empty practice field.

Halfway across the dance floor, Margaret collided with a body, which instantly began leading her in the occurring waltz. Overcoming her shock, the girl pushed against the man's chest and pulled back enough to discover herself looking into the eyes of Edmund. Though the dance continued around them, the half unwilling couple stopped in the middle of it all.

"Why go in such a hurry?" he asked good-humoredly. "Any place in particular?"

"Where I'm going is none of your blood business, Majesty," she hissed back.

"Is it now? It seems wrong for a lady to depart without an escort."

"You are not involved in any of my plans: near or far. You saw to that. Now, please leave."

"Ooh, so polite. Let's leave before we make a scene."

"A scene?" she snapped, barely keeping a lid on her anger. "_You_ rejected _me_. You've lost your chance. You have no right or reason to pursue me and I will see to it that you regret it for the rest of your pitiful life…Majesty." During her final fuming, Edmund grabbed the lady by her arm and dragged her out of the hall towards the library, but halfway there, she shook off his hand. "Don't you dare touch me!"

"You're being ridiculous," he urged. Fed up with the King's dance of rejection and pursuance, Daisy ripped a moon-bladed halberd from the metal hands of a coat of armor on the side and deliberately pointed it at the boy. "Now, you're simply acting crazy."

"Can't you take a hint? You rejected me and I am trying to deal with it…but I can't with you stalking me everywhere I go."

"Tell me what to do."

She scoffed, still holding the weapon, disgusted by his lack of logic.

"Leave me alone, Edmund. You can't just dump me like that after all this time and just think that taunting me with your presence is just fine and dandy. You want to do something for me? Get out of my life! I'll never be able to look at you again without thinking of what you did to me."

"Margie, you're overreacting."

"Me? Overreacting? I'm not the one who said, 'gee, sorry, it's over'. We spent fourteen years in complete bliss…now it's suddenly gone! I don't want any reminders! I hate them! I hate this place! I hate Narnia! And I hate you, 'Just' King!"

Ed barely missed fatal injury when the girl launched the halberd at him and walked stiffly down the hall to the practice field, regardless of her floor-length gown.

Snatching a practice bow and quiver from the rack, Margaret stalked to the end of the space, whipped out the first arrow, and emptied the quiver within a minute, covering the bull's eye with a little forest of feathers and not stopping until her hand met air when she reached for another missile.

Growling, she covered the forty feet between her and the target and began yanking the projectiles out of place.

"How dare he? How _dare_ he!"

"How dare who what?" a gentle voice questioned. Daisy looked around for the speaker, but found no one, provoking deeply furrowed eyebrows. "Uh, down here, my Lady." She complied and discovered the gallant Mouse Reepicheep standing right next to her. "Forgive me, my Lady, but you seem troubled."

She laughed mirthlessly, stuffing away the last arrow.

"'Troubled' doesn't even begin to cover it, my fearless friend."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just…my life is so confusing and frustrating right now. He ditches me and then tries to do a five-second remake of some of our best moments by getting close and dancing with me. I want him out of my life! How can I deal with this?"

The Mouse loudly exhaled.

"Well, Lady Margaret, as a creature of honor, my advice would be to solve this with suave and decency."

"Oh yes, that's really helpful. Can you be a little more cryptic?"

Reepicheep shook his head and left her to continue stewing.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	23. Comin' Down on a Sunny Day?

Seether and Amy Lee's "Broken" is with scenes 3-4…

…Comin' Down on a Sunny Day?

"Did you see Pete and Kathryn sneaking around last night? I couldn't tell if they were arguing or flirting."

Her companion peered sideways at the noted couple dancing about twenty feet away.

"I think both."

Lucy rolled her eyes as Aida chugged yet another glass of wine in only a few gulps, suddenly realizing how much the woman had changed during her time on Earth.

"I can easily tell that you like him."

The girl's companion glanced at the strong, tall, golden-haired, strong-featured man in question, who laughed richly in a conversation with a faun.

"He's an exceptional fighter and has a level head."

"Oh, come on! We both know that he's more than that. Give me one good reason pointing to your side why you're suddenly not the only shape-shifting Bird out there."

"Maybe Aslan decided that my kind was useful enough to expand upon."

"Or maybe He finally decided that it's time that you received your reward. Cadal may not even know why you two are the only ones, but it only makes sense." She pulled the drink away from a stubborn Aida, despite the golden glare. "Be grateful that you're not alone anymore, go over there, and get to dancing or walking or talking or whatever you creatures do these days."

With that, she jabbed the huntress in the ribs hard enough to get her going in the desired direction. Indeed, Cadal had a certain…look in his eyes when he gazed at Aida. It was so obvious! …and romantic.

* * *

"Now that the two of you have reached a certain age, it is time for you to remain in your own world for now and face the challenges of life there. It would be unfair to continue bringing you back to solve Narnia's problems when you can use what you have learned here to better Earth. Magic does not have to be limited to this place. Although your home may not have Talking Animals, centaurs, fauns, and witches, it has its own Deep Magic. Even Narnia must one day end, but the spirits of those who care for it will never die. If you have faith in Narnia and the Deep Magic, you will see your friends again."

Susan bowed her head in disappointment as the trio walked through the nearby field.

"But Aslan," she began, "what if Narnia needs us again? What about the Horn?"

"There are others who will answer the call. Your duty will be to spread the life and hope you brought to Narnia."

"What will we get for it?"

"Susan!" Peter scolded, scowling darkly at his sister.

"What? I'm just asking a perfectly logical question. If I'm going to spend my life trying to change the world, I need to know that it's worth it!"

A sad look passed over the Great Lion, but He replied after a moment, leading the siblings back into the castle.

"If your heart still remembers Narnia, your soul is pure, and your desire is to return, you will find eternal peace."

Though she didn't say anything in return, Su wasn't completely convinced that what she saw as ruining her life in the fruitless attempt to (what she had gathered) turn Earth into Narnia could ever possibly be worth that oh-so-cryptic 'reward'.

"Aslan," Peter broke in, "what about Kathryn and Margaret? Will they be all right?"

"The Warders still have tests to pass. Margaret has gone through her first, but still has long days ahead of her. As for Kathryn, she has been tested by time and it will eventually be her turn to face more immediate worries than passing years. You may see her when her least expect her."

The group halted in their skirting of the inner courtyard when the new King came into view. She liked Caspian. He seemed…nice and she would have liked to get to know him much better, but that wouldn't happen…so, why not try forgetting about it all?

* * *

The celebrated Humans remained in front of the crowd with Aslan on the outskirts of the town where the Telmarines had been assembled, listening to the great Lion as He gave the Telmarines, whose ancestors were apparently from Earth, the chance to return through a gateway, which He magically created with an old gnarled tree nearby. Kathryn stood just behind and to the right of the new King opposite her cousin and the Pevensies, as was merely proper, fiddling with the embroidered skirt of her silk, wide-sleeved gown: a stunning piece of softly toned blue combination of flowers and swirls with a rounded, swooping neckline that prevented her from slouching.

While the Telmarines debated their fate and Miraz's wife and second-in-command volunteered to lead, she risked looking at Peter, though his attention was too occupied by the present dealings to notice. It reminded her so much of the Golden Age. He had always been so caught up in running a country that he never bothered to open his eyes to the fact that even he had a personal life outside of the throne room. She knew then that duty to Narnia kept them apart; now, she knew that they would kept apart once again. She knew, partially from Aslan and partially from her own guesses, and Peter knew that they couldn't stay forever.

The Warder was jerked back to reality when Peter explained the inevitable to his siblings and Margaret approached, instantly offering a hug that had, over time, become a stark rarity in their world.

"I'll miss you, cous," the light brunette stated, gripping her silken gray sleeveless dress with awkward sincerity.

"No, you won't," Kathryn joked. "I know that you probably enjoy getting all the attention."

Daisy scoffed and moved on to give a bear hug to Caspian, who had just received an affectionate one from the Gentle Queen, while Lucy hopped in front of the Warder, postponing her attention for Trumpkin.

"Take care of the others, Lucy," she ordered kindly, bending down to embrace the loyal Queen, not noticing when her hidden necklace slipped out of the confines of her dress.

Offering a simple hand on the shoulder to Susan and Edmund, the woman moved behind the Narnians to face the young man closest to the gateway. Neither knew how to say goodbye. Yes, they had gotten through their differences, but the age-old romance was tongue-tied with circumstance. Peter smoothly broke the indecisiveness by kissing her gently on her bowed forehead.

"At least try to stay safe," he said lightly, earning her laugh in reward.

"At least try to be happy," she answered.

"You know," Aslan quietly offered to them, "you do still have the choice to return."

Kate smiled and brushed the High King's cheek with her hand.

"I know…but I belong here. Earth has forgotten me and I hardly remember what it was even like. What I used to resent I now accept and look forward to the end." She then noticed Peter's eyes locked on the escaped ring-pendant and blushed, fingering it thoughtfully. "Perhaps you would like this back? I…found it in your room after you left and…I just thought…if you would like…"

"Keep it," he interrupted, still staring at the piece of jewelry as if walking down memory lane. "It was meant for you anyway." Stunned, the Warder could only work her jaw silently. "Keep it knowing that there will never be another you for me. You are my priceless emerald…and it will always be that way."

All of the returnees then took a step back and held hands, Daisy obviously reluctant to do so with Ed, queuing Kathryn to return to where an obviously star-struck Caspian stood. As the saviors began to file through the doorway, she slipped her hand into the King's, taking comfort in his presence.

With many of the Telmarines also following, the half-breed Dr. Cornelius looked kindly to her, saying,

"You'll see them again, I'm quite certain of it."

"You have great confidence in your words," she easily shot back.

"That's because I'm often right."

"That makes two of us."

"I am sure we'll get along quite nicely. Would you mind meeting me in the library to talk of history?"

That really made her smile. What wasn't there to smile about? She had passed her first test from Aslan, however narrowly and however nearly she had failed. She had been able to look past her resentment against Peter for his disappearance thirteen hundred years in the past. Her test of time was through and next was not yet begun…whatever it was.

"I would be honored, Professor."

* * *

They were back in the train depot and Narnia was completely gone. Ed, along with all of his companions, was frozen in place, trying to take in the idea of leaving what seemed to be their true home yet again, until a nerdy boy stepped onto the newly-arrived train, looked at Susan, and asked,

"Aren't you coming, Phyllis?"

Bewildered, the younger Pevensie boy looked through his bag, asking,

"You don't think there's any way we can get back?" They looked at him questioningly. "I left my new torch in Narnia!"

It had the desired effect of making everyone laugh, but inside Edmund was greatly distressed. In Narnia, he had made friendships, reinforced his early maturity...and earned the fiery hate of Margaret Benten.

* * *

Daisy despondently stared out the window, not really seeing any of the scenery. She had failed.

"_Margaret, may I speak with for a moment?" Aslan queried as the Warder emerged from the dining hall, bent on heading for bed._

"_Sure," she responded sleepily, dragging her feet as the Lion proceeded to pace around the corner and down the hall, leaving the girl barely a chance to catch up._

"_Do you know how and why you came to Narnia, young one?"_

_She shifted uncomfortably, walking lightly on her sore feet._

"_I came through the Wardrobe like everyone else and accidently ended up here…?"_

_The majestic Creature bowed His head in sadness._

"_Do you know why you became a Warder of Narnia, charged to protect this land from wanderers and thieves from Earth?"_

"_Um, because you wanted me to be one…and, by the way, I still haven't seen the point of protecting Narnia from intruders I have yet to bump in to."_

_The drooping head shook slowly._

"_I gave you that choice because I knew you had the strength and will to accomplish what I asked, and I offered it so that you would have the chance to see the magic and wonder of the world that most do not bother to notice. I test you because I want to see you succeed in what others fail. I want you to be a beacon of hope for those who have none._

_Those who think that love is a hopeless cause could look at the Warders of Narnia and see that patience and fidelity bring reward, while desperation and despair only bring pain. Those who think that life is meant to be spent chasing after youth and worldly riches can look to the two of you and learn from your hardship and victory. If you cannot set that example, than perhaps I was mistaken."_

_The teenager was speechless with horror. She knew perfectly well that Aslan hadn't made a mistake. _

"_The…the test?"_

_Those big liquid eyes stared into hers._

"_Lust."_

_A pang of guilt shot through her. The desperation in chasing after Edmund had cost her failing the test she had so anxiously anticipated._

"_Wh…what was Kate's test?"_

"_That is for her mind and conscience alone." Emotion threatened, but Margaret held it determinedly at bay. "It is, however…not over. You will be faced with one more test. If you pass, then your reward is certain. Take courage, little heart."_

Courage was the least of her problems. She just knew that she would fail in the next 'test'. Without Edmund there to encourage and help and everyone else making problems (they would all certainly side with their brother!), what was there to seek a reward for? Kathryn was the perfectionist. Daisy was insane intellectual…and she was determined to be proud of it. If she couldn't live up to Aslan's standards, she would live up to her own.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	24. Paths of Many

Wow. I just posted three whole chapters. haha. Okay, I must ask: although I have every intention of significantly cutting down on the song/scene thing in my next story anyway, please let me know whether you like it or consider it a distraction and waste of energy. Please? Thanks. :) Anyway, I would like to thank all of my fabulous readers, those who have hit the favorite and alert buttons, and reviewers, especially the one who has stuck around for an incredibly long time (DragonRider2000 is, by the way, a brilliant writer)!

Paths of Many

Aida stepped slowly to stand beside the Warder as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.

"Do you intend to stand here all night? He's not coming back, you know."

Kathryn chuckled.

"I know…but it's hard to accept after all that has happened. I only hope that he doesn't change too much. Where is Cadal?"

"I can't find him anywhere. My guess is that he went back to Earth."

The long-living women glanced at each other before both stating,

"Men…"

"What about them?" King Caspian queried, joining the duo.

Aida raised her eyebrow at the monarch, not at all flustered by the King of Narnia's presence. It pleased the woman that she had been able to regain some of her composure during her return.

"We were just commenting on how flustering men could be," the Falcon pointed out. "Would you care to join?"

"Thank you, but I have more widely-affecting things to discuss. One of the Old Narnians…" Kate cleared her throat with pleasure. "…pardon me…Narnians…was telling me about the wonders of the Golden Age, not the least of which was the lost art of ship-building."

The Warder significantly paled.

"Ship…as in…sailing, ocean, water?"

"Yes! I was hoping to get started on plans to begin building as soon as things are more settled on the mainland." Kathryn was still not very impressed. "Is there something wrong?"

Aida cackled in her mirth before answering his concern.

"I distinctly remember being stuck with Kathryn managing home affairs while the Kings and Queens went on sea voyages throughout the entire Golden Age because the great warrior couldn't stand the idea of being out of the sight of land."

The other woman weakly protested, groaning,

"Someone had to stay behind to keep the country in one piece."

"Certainly…as long as it didn't involve a boat."

* * *

A few weeks after returning home from school, Peter Pevensie stepped off of the train on the outskirts of a small town near London and looked around for his host.

"Well, haven't you grown?"

The teenager turned to find the hunched figure of Digory Kirke. The cheerful old man instantly began leading him into the town, giving the guest no chance to respond.

Kirke turned off the main hard dirt road and through the whitewashed fence into the patchily grassed front yard of a quaint little white-painted cottage. The initial spacious inside had a feel that was both rustic and sophisticated with a heavy oak desk, complimented by brass handles on the drawers, and a large worktable with dozens of trinkets and parts on the left; the right side of the room was taken up by a large fireplace, a short table holding an oil lamp, and several plush chairs. Down the twenty-foot, narrow hallway could be seen three more spacious apartments: the kitchen and two bedrooms.

"Professor," Peter began uncertainly, staring incomprehensibly at the shocking contrast between this house and Kirke's former residence as he set down his bags, "if you don't mind my asking…why did you move out of the mansion?"

A solemn look passed over the elderly man's countenance.

"Things change, money is gained and, in my case, lost, and people move on. Trust me, my boy, it may not look like much now, but it's more than comfortable once you settle in, I assure you." At second glance, the house did indeed look far more appealing than his initial viewing, especially when he smelled the baking bread on the other side of the house. "Ah, I see you've caught a whiff of my specialty loaf. Speaking of which…come into the kitchen for some tea, I'll check my bakery, and we can discuss your future studies." As he turned to lead the way, he further commented, "You can put your things in your room, if you like…that's the one on the left."

The kitchen had a similar widespread, multi-purpose feeling to the entrance as one side of the tile-floored room was dedicated to cooking, while the other was the dining area. In the back of the space were a closed wood stove and the back door, which led to a surprisingly large back yard. The Professor noticed the boy's curious study while removing the luscious bread from a waist-high stove, saying,

"Peter, why don't you make yourself useful and pour the tea…the cups are in the cupboard there…no, not that one; the one on the right. That's it. The tea is in that jar there. Now, you know you won't find the Wardrobe here, right? We'll let that bread cool."

Peter sat down and blew lightly at his steaming tea, with the Professor sitting across from him with a bemused smile.

"Why didn't you bring it with you?"

"It was too big and heavy and this house was too small to worry too much about it." The younger of the two stared intensely at his drink. Without the Wardrobe there, it felt as if he had lost yet another piece of Kathryn. The other man's smile dropped at the sight of his furrowed brow. "What is wrong, Peter?"

"Not even a month ago, we went back to Narnia. Long story short, more than a thousand years passed since the last time, the Telmarines took over, the Narnians were driven nearly extinct, the latest Telmarine prince came to his senses, but was driven out by his power-hungry uncle, and he blew Susan's Horn, hoping to get some help from the past. Consequently, we were dragged into the mess, defeated the Telmarines, set the prince up as Narnia's King, and were tossed back here."

"But that isn't what is troubling you."

"Kathryn was still there...not a day older than when we left the last time…something to do with being a Warder. She hated me for leaving…even gave a go at killing me."

"Obviously, she didn't succeed," Digory commented, sipping the tea.

"She finally came around, but…I left her again…and, according to Aslan, I'm too old to ever return to Narnia."

"You're worried that she will feel betrayed again and never forgive you, this time." Peter nodded. "I wouldn't be too concerned about her loyalty. She now knows that you didn't leave on purpose and didn't have much of a choice this or last time, correct?" He nodded again. "And, in the end, she loved you more than ever." Same (if hesitant) response. "Well then, I can say for sure that she will last another thousand years without you. Aslan wouldn't allow for this to be needless suffering. If all else, He'll find a way for you two to be together again." With that, the old tutor leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "So, you're going to the university this next year. What are your plans for studying?"

* * *

"Why do we have to Auntie's?" Lucy whined, setting her suitcase near the door for when they would leave that evening.

"Honey, we promised Susan that we would take her to America, we don't have the money for all of us to go, and you can't just stay here by yourselves."

Ed stared out the kitchen window as Lu momentarily parted ways with their mother and joined him at the table after pouring herself a glass of lemonade.

"I never wanted to go to America, anyway," the girl moaned. "Susan and Daisy would be no fun. All they'll talk about is perfume and the latest fashions in hats." He laughed quietly at that, no humor really touching him. "What?"

"It's just…isn't it amazing how much those two changed in only three weeks?"

Lucy looked sadly at her brother, knowing how terrible he felt about having to reject Margie like that, though he never actually said anything about it; however, she also knew that he didn't really have a choice. She wasn't the same strong, lovable woman they all once knew; she was immature and selfish...just like when they first met, practically.

The Valiant Queen, though still a child, still had the maturity and poise she seemed to always gain from entering Narnia. This Lucy of the past year and a half listened to and understood everyone's problems. She was quiet, unassuming, and kind, but she knew when to chastise and put people in their places.

"Ed," she began sternly, grabbing his hand across the wood surface, "you and I both know that they started changing long before now…maybe even since we got back the first time. I think they just couldn't stand the idea of having something that wonderful taken away from them. This time was just the last straw." She put on a wicked smile as she pointed a finger at the boy. "And don't even think about blaming yourself for it. As much as we all loved Daisy, she deserved what she got. I only hope she realizes her mistake before she wakes up an old maid with no dreams and a boring life."

Edmund surprised even himself by grabbing his sibling's hand and giving it an encouraging squeeze when her eyes spoke of obvious guilt and grief.

"She'll come around…I'm sure."

"I'm sure you're right."

Lucy responded as desired to his smile and encouraging words, happily gulping down her lemonade. The fact was, however, that he didn't believe his mini pep talk in the least. His life for the past three weeks felt as if it was falling apart. It had always (well, it seemed like always) been Margie bringing reason and wonder to life. What was there now?

* * *

"I can't believe we're actually going!" Margaret squealed, clinging to the hands of an equally elated Susan. "And I can't believe your parents decided to go to America the same time as me and Aunt Polly! Maybe we could go to a Broadway show together before we part ways."

"And all of the shops that must be in New York! And you get to go be around college boys for a whole three weeks!"

"And the professors! Grandma says that they'll certainly pay a fortune for my ideas!" Su's enthusiasm dwindled significantly, as it always did when the other girl spoke of her technical inventions, but it didn't last long. "Then we could go shopping downtown all day…and I could buy you a new fur coat; maybe even two!"

Daisy didn't remember the last time she had been so happy, especially after Edmund's rejection, but the trip to America was certainly helping to muffle the pain, particularly as the girls and the accompanying adults skipped onto the ship…well, Susan and Margaret skipped; the grownups just walked. Though they didn't elude much to it, they were equally thrilled to have a distraction from the talk of Narnia and all the pain it had brought for them.

"I do pity Ed and Lucy, though. It was depressing to see their poor faces drop when Mom and Dad told them that they were going to stay with our aunt and uncle for the rest of the Summer. Eustace is such a beast!"

"Honestly, I don't pity Edmund at all," the shapeless teen stated. "He deserves something to drag him off his high horse."

It was true that the two older girls had talked of practically nothing but makeup and clothes and round-the-world trips since their return from that Place. Neither of them wanted to even think about it: Susan because she would never be able to return, after all, and Daisy because that was where her love had both bloomed and fallen apart.

For them, Narnia was a thing to be forgotten as a child's fantasy and a nightmare, and they both were set on forgetting that there ever was a real place called Narnia.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	25. Life Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness

Thanks princess emma of narnia, DragonRider2000, and Ella Unlimited for your reviews!

Just so you know, I know basically nothing about Stanford University and have no real interest of going there, so, if I make some sort of technical mistake concerning it, please just consider it as part of the fiction. Thanks and enjoy!

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

The teenage girl bent down, resting her hand on the soft cloth of her gray convertible, which came with a knee-length skirt, jacket, and white blouse, as she studied the mechanism on the table, enjoying the breeze coming through the open window on her exposed neck due to the bun of her medium brown, wavy hair. Aunt Polly stood at the window, admiring the surroundings of Stanford with contented coolness.

"Aunt Polly, you don't look a day older since I saw you when I was a student here!" a flat, Americanized baritone voice cried, meeting the elderly woman halfway across the room in a cheerful embrace.

Daisy had to forcefully snap her mouth shut. The stunning man hugging her grandmother was perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties, of average height (a few inches taller than the girl), and had a clear, tanned complexion and a somewhat muscled build. He had dancing, deep brown eyes, short and curly, dark brown hair, and high cheekbones, and was wearing plain black trousers with suspenders and a white button-up shirt with the top three buttons undone, leaving the navy blue tie loosely dangling about his neck.

"Geordie, haven't you grown? And a professor already!" the matron greeted him, putting her hands on his flushed cheeks.

"'Substitute' professor," he corrected.

"Oh, poppycock! From what I hear about the _actual_ professor, you might as well be here full time. I was so sorry to hear about your father's accident. He was such a genius and my granddaughter wanted so much to meet him."

"Thank you for the sympathy. But concerning your granddaughter, I think I might be able to help." Just as the 'granddaughter' began getting annoyed at being referred to as nothing but the 'granddaughter', 'Geordie' turned those joyous eyes to her. "And this must be her."

Daisy's cheeks turned red as he gallantly took her gloved hand and kissed it before Polly took the introductions upon herself. So what if he was a good ten years older than her! It didn't mean she could blush and gawk a little.

"Yes, this is my granddaughter, Margaret Benten. Darling, this is George Garrison. His father, Frank, was the one we were originally going to meet."

"Lovely to meet you, Mr. Garrison," the teen offered, her hand still in his. "Most everyone calls me Daisy."

"Well, Daisy," he answered, "I must inform you now that everyone but my students call me Geordie, so I insist."

"Nonsense," Aunt Polly scolded stepping in between them and breaking the contact, acting as if she was merely studying the table. "Only your close family and friends call you Geordie…and the girls you are always chasing after. Just so you know, Daisy is spoken for."

"I am not!" the girl squeaked. "You know as well as I that I am and feel freer than ever before."

Geordie cleared his throat in surprise at the awkward moment, saying,

"Um…Daisy, I hear that you have some interesting little inventions to show me."

"Yes, _Geordie_," she answered, reaching into the satchel at her hip that she had used to store some of her creations in her recent journeys across the Atlantic and the USA. "I think you'll find this one _quite_ interesting. It actually creates an electromagnetic field to…"

* * *

The Weasel slithered through the arm of an empty chair onto the floor, where he proceeded to hide behind the leg of the twenty-foot table, peering out under the draped white tablecloth at the small crowd of elegantly, if oddly, dressed people, most of whom were over the age of fifty.

His target of observance was near the oaken hallway at the other end of the room, wearing a white, floor-length, sleeveless dress with a neckline shaped like the bottom half of a heart, clinging to her shapeless figure about the chest, waist, and hips before flowing gracefully the rest of the way down; her hair was held back by a cream-colored ribbon. With a glass of bright red punch in her hand, the girl was animatedly describing some sort of contraption completely out of the creature's league of understanding to a potbellied man in his late sixties wearing a black and white curiosity that reminded the Weasel of a creature he had heard of that lived somewhere in the colder reaches of Narnia. He believed the pattern was called a…tuxedo.

Snorting softly in bewilderment when another man began a speech of some sort, he slipped back under the table, across the floor, through the next hall, out the open window, across the lawn, and into the copse near the mansion to where the three burly men and their leader, a sensuous beauty with a frightful temper, stood. It wasn't as if he really wanted to do this…but he didn't have any other choice.

"Well?" the woman queried coldly, causing the Animal to squeak in surprise at her noticing him as she stared down her dainty nose with those frightful, black eyes. "What did you hear, Weasel?"

"She…it was hard to hear and they talked a lot of money and technical nonsense, but…she's leaving in two days for the place called 'New York' and then taking a boat back to England."

A cruel smile appeared on her face.

"New York it is, then."

"Tessarina, will you meet us back in Carlormen after your part of the mission with the High King is done?" the biggest man asked.

"By the time I am finished in this world," she replied condescendingly, "you will likely be dead and dust. I wish you luck in your task. The Warder Margaret will make the perfect sacrifice to appease Tash for the Tarkaan's pardon. For justice and glory in the eyes of the great Lord Tash, I bid you farewell. Kill the Weasel when you get to New York."

* * *

"Aunt Polly, look at _this_ coat! I'm certain that Susan would just love it! Should I buy it or the white one there? It's so wonderful to not have to worry about being stingy with the price! Are you sure that Su will be on the same ship? I have so much to tell her!" Daisy rattled on as she stepped into yet another shop, since the duo had another hour before their ship was leaving…something about a minor explosion in the boiler room. Nothing very major. "Geordie said he would write and visit as soon as one of my inventions goes into production. Just imagine how much I'll get then after what they gave me for just the blueprints! I can't believe we've been gone a whole four months!"

Tightly smiling, Aunt Polly suddenly said,

"Child, don't you suppose you are being a little over-enthusiastic over this whole situation? It's like you don't even remember beautiful simplicity of Narnia any more."

"Narni-what?"

Daisy watched in utter confusion as her grandmother's face dropped.

"Uh…darling, why don't you keep looking for a present for Susan and meet me back at the ship. It's only a few blocks away. I…I'm suddenly not feeling well."

"Okay."

Though a flash of concern crossed Margaret's mind, the incident quickly dissipated from her memory as she continued thumbing through the gorgeous gowns, wondrous coats, and adorable hats.

Suddenly, another shopper caught her attention in the ladies' gloves section, the reason for her attention being that the shopper was in fact a he: a he that tickled her memory to an infuriating extant. He was in his early twenties and tall, with shaggy golden hair, green eyes, and an acceptably bold nose, wearing brown pants and a tan trench coat.

Settling for a modest set of dangling gold earrings, making her purchase, and putting it in her leather purse, the young woman straightened the jacket of her deep blue convertible suit and walked back out onto the sidewalk, finding it very disconcerting that the man from the shop soon began following her.

With a dozen horrid scenarios of thieves and murderers going through her head, she purposefully missed the street that led to the piers and kept walking through the bustling crowd, fancying with a façade of calmness that she could simply lose her follower in the chaos and proceed to the ship.

After walking through a mall that took up practically an entire block, she stepped through the revolving doors back onto the walk and risked looking back…just as the man started coming out the door. Daisy panicked when she heard the faint blast of her transport's departure warning and dove through the mass of people, desperate to lose the creepy stalker.

With panting breath and disheveled hair, but overall no worse for wear, the inventor finally stumbled into an unoccupied alley just as the sun began sinking beyond the towering buildings; developing paranoia, however, urged her to seek sanctuary further into the lane and around the corner behind an abandoned apartment structure, where she finally allowed herself the luxury of leaning against the wall in exhausted misery and loneliness. Having caught her breath finally, Daisy sat down on a questionably clean carton and risked removing her inch-high heels to massage incredibly sore feet.

* * *

With a groan, Margaret opened her eyes and stood after replacing her shoes; she hadn't noticed that she had fallen asleep. A strange laugh sent her jumping practically two feet into the air from shock and provoked her looking warily around the alleyway at the lengthening shadows.

"Who…who's there?" she shakily asked, clinging to her bag.

She was answered by the appearance of three hulking figures at the end of the passage. With flickering hope, she inched backwards towards the exit, but the imposing presence of the intruding men soon halted her movement with fear.

"Warder Margaret," the center and biggest of the triplet began with a grumbling, strangely accented voice, dark eyes flashing and greasy black hair framing his square jaw, "please come peacefully. I'm sure that the sacrifice is far less painful when undergone by a willing participant. We're not looking for trouble…just doing our duty."

"I don't know who this Warder girl is, but you've got the wrong person," she stuttered, turning to leave, only to find her way blocked by her previous stalker and ending up trapped in between two nightmares. "Please…don't hurt me," she whispered to them.

The Benten girl tried to scream when one of the giant males grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth to prevent the alert from reaching anyone. An instant later, she was dropped against the wall with the breath knocked out of her when the golden-haired stalker attacked the others, punching one and kicking two enough to stun them...but not for long. They soon came back, teaming up on the surprisingly-light-on-his-feet defender with their brute strength, quickly knocking him to the ground and kicking him viciously.

Poor Daisy, without a defense of any kind, watched helplessly until a sweet female voice yelled ferociously from somewhere on the roof. Before she knew it, the thugs were being whipped and lassoed by a silver rope of some sort wielded by a skinny teenage girl in a baggy dark green tunic and sagging black pants with straight auburn hair and striking eyes.

"Margaret, get your lazy rear end over here and help me!" the newcomer growled, tossing a dagger each to Daisy and the 'stalker'.

Surprising herself to an unspeakable extent, the victim of this insanity instantly hurled the dagger at her attackers, gaping when it imbedded itself in the shoulder of the leader exactly where she had intended.

Between the silver whip and the precision of the knife, the three men halted their assault, the leader grabbed a small item from his coat, and they ran through an invisible doorway, leaving the others in the dark and quiet. The other girl instantly ran over to the kneeling 'stalker', quietly saying,

"Cadal, are you all right? They could have killed you."

"Odds to which I am perfectly accustomed," he nonchalantly replied, then putting his hand under her chin. "Why change your appearance so much?"

"Alanna?" Margaret suddenly exclaimed, standing finally. "What are you doing in America?"

"Saving the two of you," she replied smartly, getting up and managing to look intimidating and regal, despite the floppy attire, and sharply slapping her fellow female. "Have you lost your mind, Daisy? You could have gotten us all killed!"

"What are you talking about? Who is this guy? He's been following me around everywhere!"

"You're welcome," the gentleman grumbled.

"I'm here to take you to Narnia," Alanna stated, shoving Daisy backwards.

She screamed when, instead of dirt, she was met by air. The white, cloud-covered sky she faced had no bounds when she frantically looked around for any signs of land or anything else other than the vast expanse as the wind whipped at her clothes and hair. When she twisted around to face below her, discovering what appeared to water (and a lot of it), two huge birds, an eagle and a falcon, swept by, their cackling screeches giving her the impression of a laugh.

Seconds later, the girl dove into the ocean and resurfaced, spluttering and coughing as she bobbed in the water. Strong arms soon grabbed her, but she pushed them away as her own swimming power alone could make her feel comfortable enough in the unknown sea. When she looked, expecting to find Cadal, she was instead faced by a dark-haired, tan fellow in his twenties; some ways behind him was a huge ship that looked very much like something out of a Viking legend.

"Margaret!" the man gasped, calmly nudging her towards the ship, having quickly learned not to try helping her swim, however she floundered.

Daisy ignored him until she was on the deck surrounded by men, soaking wet, without her shoes.

"Prince Caspian!" she cried, realization at last hitting her.

"'King' now, if you do recall," he corrected. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Welcome to the Dawn Treader, Warder Margaret."

Thanks for reading and please review!


	26. Part 1: Aqua

Thanks MaryandMerlin, ToryTigress92, princess emma of narnia, Ella Unlimited, and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!

Just so you know, since I have yet to see the _Dawn Treader_ movie at this point and since I will be putting a bit more focus on my OCs' separate plots, I'll be using just the books from here on out. Thanks!  
Also, this was originally one chapter; however, due to added scenes and such, it split into two. I still have a couple of scenes to write on the second part, but here you go for now. :)

Part 1: Aqua

Edmund and Lucy did not at all want to come and stay with Uncle Harold and Aunt Alberta. But it really couldn't be helped. Father had got a job lecturing in America for sixteen weeks that summer, and Mother was to go with him because she hadn't had a real holiday for ten years. Peter was working very hard for an exam and he was to spend the holidays being coached by old Professor Kirke in whose house these four children had had wonderful adventures long ago in the war years. If he had still been in that house he would have had them all to stay. But he had somehow become poor since the old days and was living in a small cottage with only one bedroom to spare. It would have cost too much money to take the other three all to America, and Susan had gone.

Daisy also had gone off to America with Aunt Polly to show off her gadgets and revel in worldly pleasures and they hadn't heard anything concerning Kathryn since their last trip to Narnia at the end of the school year.

Ed and Lucy were stealing a few priceless moments alone together away from their beastly cousin Eustace Clarence Scrubb, a scrawny little boy who found his only pleasures in the torment of others. Of course, they were talking about Narnia.

The siblings were in Lucy's room, sitting on the edge of her bed and looking at a picture on the opposite wall. It was the only picture in the house that they liked; it was a picture of a ship: a ship sailing straight toward you. Her prow was gilded and shaped like the head of a dragon with a wide-open mouth. She had only one, rich purple mast, while the sides, where the gold of the dragonhead didn't exist, were a dark green. The colors of the vessel seemed to be dancing on the gloriously blue water.

"The question is," mused Edmund, who had proudly grown at least an inch or two over the summer, "whether it doesn't make things worse, _looking_ at a Narnian ship when you can't get there."

"Even looking is better than nothing," the ever-maturing Lucy commented with a sigh, playing idly with her mid-back-length hair. "And she is such a very Narnian ship."

"Still playing your old game?" Eustace taunted, suddenly coming through the door, having obviously been listening to the siblings' conversation.

The boy instantly proceeded with his usual cruelties and teasing concerning the Pevensie children's favorite magical world, not even subsiding when Ed suggested to his sister that no reaction to the torment would soon send the bully off for lack of entertainment. Instead, Eustace merely pointed to the dusty, majestic frame and began elaborating on his scant opinions of it, to which the other responded rather coldly,

"You won't see it if you step outside."

"Why do you like it?" the cousin smugly asked Lucy, who responded with far more composure than the Just King could presently muster.

"Well, for one thing, I like it because the ship looks as if it were really moving. And the water looks as if it were really wet. And the waves look as if they were really going up and down."

A strange thing happened during the girl's contented description. Though Edmund at first thought that the stuck-up relative was turning green merely because of Lucy's calm demeanor, he and the Queen both soon discovered that the waves on the picture really did look like they were moving and splashing and the ship seemed to be plunging and swooping in the surf, while its sail flapped and bulged in the wind. As the deck came into view, Ed imagined that he saw a familiar face amongst the crewmembers, but he soon ignored her as a fantasy of his pitiful love-loss.

At the same time as these strange sights, the book that had been sitting next to Edmund began flopping about in the sudden wind coming from the picture; the bed itself was soon hurled against the wall as the breeze turned in a crushing force. Just as the wild, salty smell of the wonderful outdoors hit them, the ocean in the picture broke past the frame, splashing them all with water and proceeding to fill the room.

Eustace Clarence, in his desperation and fear, reached to tear the picture down; however, his efforts and those of the other two to stop him were rendered useless as they all promptly found themselves actually standing over the water on the frame itself, the children having shrunk or the picture having grown significantly. The shrew of a boy, in his panic of nearly falling himself, grabbed ahold of the Pevensies and consequently threw all of them off balance, with all three plunging into the chilly water.

Ed and Lucy did quite well themselves in treading water and staying on the surface; however, Eustace just had to continue his crazed fright and snatched the girl, dragging both under. As Edmund peeled the other boy away from his sister, someone dove off the nearby ship and went straight to helping Lucy on board with the assistance of the crew. The older boy went next, followed by the miserable coward and, lastly, the dark-haired rescuer.

"Ca…Ca…Caspian!" Lucy gasped once she caught her breath, recognizing the young man before them.

In the middle of a jovial greeting, King Caspian asked with a smile,

"But who is your friend?"

Poor Eustace was in no mood for introductions and went straight to whining in his miserable state.

"Let me go! Let me go back. I don't like it," he cried, rushing to the side of the ship, searching for a gateway back to Earth that didn't exist there.

"Let you go? But where?"

With that, the little imp seemed to suddenly realize his position of being on a ship in the middle of the ocean; the green tint of his face needed some way to take back its naturally pallid shade and…well, it wasn't even worth thinking about.

"Hey! Rynelf! Bring spiced wine for their Majesties," Caspian called to one of the sailors before turning back to his guests. "You'll need something to warm you after that dip."

"I think I know what will bring the color back to their cheeks," a woman called.

Edmund looked up at the crow's nest (for that was where the summons had come from) and discovered the slim figure of a girl against the background of the sun with wild brown hair that reached just past her shoulders. When the lady sailor gracefully slid down to the deck by a rope, he got a clearer view of her tight black cotton pants stuffed into close-fitting boots, a high-necked, knee-length, black woolen coat with gold vine-embroidery and tiny frog-closures along its entire front; this was complimented by a wide black belt. The refreshing sea breeze had done her complexion a world of good as her cheeks shown with a healthy flush.

Her narrowed eyes and slight frown, however, specifically indicated her negative opinion of Edmund's presence as she stared at his soaking wet figure.

"Margaret!" Lucy cried happily.

"I figured seeing me again would send the blood back up north," she jested in return.

"Daisy…weren't you in America? How and when did you get here?"

"Well, I was…until three days ago, in Narnian time. For all I know, this is all a dream and I'm still in that alley, beaten unconscious by those thugs."

"Thugs?" Ed asked in alarm.

The girl grinned, patting his cheek playfully on her way towards the railing.

"Don't worry, Just King. Your ex-fiancé is in good hands."

* * *

"Name the first twelve digits of pi." No reply. "Peter?" Still no reply. "Peter Pevensie, are you even listening?"

"What?" the young man mumbled initially, quitting his staring contest with the kitchen back door. "Oh, sorry, Professor! I don't know why I'm so distracted today."

For the first time since the beginning of Peter's tutelage, Digory grunted moodily.

"Son, if you expect to do anything worth regard with your life, going to a good university is the best way to start; and, if you're planning on getting through with satisfactory grades, examining the woodcraft of an old badger hole won't help you."

The boy returned a rare scowl.

"Professor, you know that I'm hardly ever this distracted! It's just…I don't know how or why!"

Kirke pursed his lips, leaning back in his seat.

"I think I may know the reason for this problem."

"And what is that?"

"What else with you? Kathryn has you wrapped around her little finger in a way even she never imagined or wanted."

"How can I do this when she's there alone?"

"She's not alone, you know," the old man snipped. "Aslan would never allow her to be utterly on her own." With a shake of his head, Digory rose jerkily from his seat and began clattering around the kitchen, while Peter once again lost himself in thought, contemplating the momentary fate of his precious Warder and would-be queen until the Professor set a cup of tea in front of his nose with a jolt before sitting down with a sigh. "Peter, I know I've used this card on you at _least_ once before… What would Kate want you to do?"

The boy sighed in resignation and began reciting the desired numbers.

* * *

As she staggered slightly at the end of the line of prisoners, Daisy noticed the boy just in front of her look back worriedly. After days of wondrous sailing, the adventurers had reached the Lone Islands: their first step of searching for Caspian's lost lords. While Edmund, Lucy, Caspian, Eustace, Reepicheep, and Margaret stretched their legs by walking across one of the more unpopulated islands, the plan was to meet the ship on the other side in their quest to reach a more productive harbor. A group of slavers had, however, halted the group's ambition and they were now being marched along, bound in a line by rope.

Daisy had managed to knick one of the burly men with her borrowed sword, being far more agile and confident than on Earth, though she had quickly submitted to capture when her more-quickly subdued friends were threatened. Dear, brave little Reepicheep hadn't stood a chance against the men and, since he was no longer biting for the threat of being muzzled, was presently talking their captors' ears off in an attempt to convince them to let them go; however, he only proved to be an amusement since the foreigners only believed him to be somehow trained to talk rather than being a real Talking Mouse.

King Caspian, not wanting his lineage to be known to these barbarians for fear of their possibly rebellious reaction, had on his part submitted quite willingly in his naïve fascination for the thrill of the adventure, however mature and kingly he was at any other time. Eustace, with whom Daisy had instantly clashed, especially concerning the room arrangements of the girls having the king's quarters (his ideas of women were more modern, while the Benten girl vouched for the wondrous chivalry in this place that Earth seemed to lack)…well, Eustace wouldn't quit whining until she threatened to run to the front of the line and shove his mouth full of turf. Being the modern city boy that he was, Eustace pleased her by keeping his vocalizations to a muttering minimum.

As for the two Pevensies, they were perfectly quiet and mature, though Lucy was obviously very worried indeed about this whole situation. Daisy begrudgingly admitted to herself that Ed was behaving rather admirably. He seemed more of a King than ever in her eyes…of course, she could never tell him that.

The teenager's thoughts were interrupted by a 'hallo' from the top of the hill they were climbing and her heart nearly leapt for joy at the sight of the woman approaching them with wild brown hair, a bold nose, and fierce eyes, wearing a short brown coat and a black riding skirt.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" the lead slaver offered, eyeing the woman up and down and obviously considering how easy or difficult a capture she posed. Daisy fought back the urge to warn Aida of the danger, but she back at the sight of the vicious sword at the bird-woman's side and the Eagle on her shoulder (which oddly had its head in a hood of sorts and a strip of leather tied to its leg, which was held by the girl).

"I would like to trade my Eagle for one of your catches," the newcomer offered, to the 'catches' shock.

"Birds are wonderful things for sport and pleasure, I will admit," the slaver replied good-humoredly, "but what would I want with a domesticated avian when I can get twice that bird's worth in gold at the market for one of these fellows?"

The Eagle seemed to ruffle its feathers indignantly under the hard veil.

"But this is no ordinary eagle." With this, she removed the hood and snapped her fingers, whereupon the creature instantly flew from her shoulder. Seconds later, in a flurry of feathers, there stood in its place a tall, strong man with gold hair and fine features. Casually examining his tied wrist, he looked up to his 'mistress' with look that asked, 'Do you really think this will hold me?' With a shrug, Aida went on addressing the stunned slavers. "Well? Is it a deal or do I have to stand here waiting all day for answer from you worthless pigs?"

"Well," the headmaster stuttered, walking over to Caspian, who was the closest match possible in their number to compare with the stunning figure, "this one would make a fine trade, but…"

"I am not interested in exchanging muscle for muscle and a fine face for yet another fine face," the trader interrupted with disgust. She instantly nodded toward Margaret. "That one."

"She's fiery, I'll allow, but do you really think…?"

"I am not here to listen to your excuses, peasant. Untie her and take this trophy off my hands."

With many confused looks from the Narnians and Earthlings, Aida claimed her prize, roughly grabbed Daisy by the arm, and shoved her viciously forward until they were far enough out of the others' view, at which point the Warder angrily asked,

"What was that about? Why didn't you save everyone else? What kind of a rescue was that? And what were you thinking when you handed Cadal over to those creeps?"

Aida coyly studied her fingernails. For some reason, it was quite unnerving.

"One: you are a Warder and it is my sworn duty to keep you safe. Momentarily, Kathryn is perfectly secure, allowing all my attention to be on you. Two: I gathered from King Caspian's attitude and situation that he wanted to blend in and acted accordingly. These lowlives will be easy to get around quite soon and I'm sure that Caspian's search will presently turn out to be productive. Three: Cadal was driving me crazy and I convinced him oh-so-sweetly to do this great deed for me in spite of him. Ah, I love winning arguments! I suppose, though, that you're worried about the Just King."

Rather than snapping a retort, Margaret remained silent.

Admittedly, the Warder actually enjoyed wandering aimlessly about with the Bird in the beautiful fields for hours on end. She even found herself laughing and rolling down a hill with her Earthen school pal a few times as evening fell upon them. Even night, when they took refuge under an overhanging boulder, was a rather refreshing time for the world-weary protector. It gave her time to contemplate her failure with Edmund and her near-failure with her selfishness and greed that had been provided by her talents and the opportunities that had come forth.

She realized that she did still feel affection for Edmund, however deeply she had buried it; always had she possessed a…soft spot for that…stiff. Always had she put him before any other preference. Now, she realized that he would never be replaced in that respect. She was stuck in a loop around that one boy. The odd thing was: he was a good person and there was no danger in loving him…and she already knew his character from experience. But did she deserve _him_?

The next morning was spent walking to the beach. The catch was that there were no boats or transports of any kind. With a role of the eyes, Daisy groaned,

"Let me guess: you flew here."

* * *

Edmund sat in the sand near the castle where the feast in celebration of the Narnian king's return to the Lone Islands was being held, relishing the softness of the fine clothes they had managed to scrounge up. However, the Just King was presently considering the many possibilities of why Margie and Aida hadn't shown up yet.

At that moment, Cadal, who had calmly accompanied the group in their taste of slavery, suddenly sat down beside the boy, his golden eyes piercing the deepening night over the ocean in the direction of the island of their previous jaunt.

"What was she like…during the Golden Age?" the Eagle abruptly asked, still staring at the barely visible waves.

Ed couldn't help but smile at his memories of Daisy fighting, laughing, arguing, pulling pranks, awkwardly holding his hand for the first time during a hunt, dragging him out of the throne room to give him a congratulatory kiss after his first great conquest…

"She was funny, stubborn, kind…smart as a whip. She even helped some of the Narnians in making a waterwheel and pulley system so that they didn't have to haul water from the river all the time. Whenever someone needed help building a house, hollowing out a cave, or catching some mangy pest, she knew exactly what to do. Kate was always the healer and confidante; Margie was always the fighter and intellectual."

Cadal surprised the King with a deep chuckle.

"Why not tell her that? Why you two clash so much, I'll never know. Your affection for Warder Margaret is lovely and interesting, but when I asked what she was like during the Golden Age, I was not speaking of her. I was speaking of Aida."

Edmund turned a mild tint of red under the Bird's gaze, despite the fact that his mistake had actually been, in part, Cadal's fault.

"Oh…well, Aida… She was always hard to figure out, but when we first met her, she said something about being created at the beginning of Narnia and betraying Aslan for the White Witch. Kate found her when she wandered into Narnia just after Aida had escaped Jadis. I guess she felt a little more than guilty and consequently ended up giving an oath to help Margie and Kate."

"What was she like, though?"

Ed couldn't hide his smirk. Who was twitter-pated now?

"Sweet, always there to help someone, tough…and fiercely loyal to Aslan. She knew what she stood for and she never let anyone tell her otherwise. She always seemed so sure of herself, but I sometimes think that it was a front to hide any vulnerability."

The other man nodded.

"It sounds like her…but I want to know what she's like when she doesn't _need_ the front. Being around her has brought up countless questions as to why we're the only two of our kind. I have yet to figure it out."

"That…you will have to find out for yourself."

Cadal seemed inclined to voice his dissatisfaction with the answer, but he thankfully didn't have the chance as the sound of splashing and voices reached their ears from the water. Edmund managed to make out words as he just began seeing the silhouettes of two drenched women.

"I c-c-can't believe you d-didn't think to bring a…boat! We j-just wasted at least two hours swimming through that…freezing ocean and I nearly drowned…_three_ times!" one girl growled through audibly chattering teeth as she clumsily waded towards shore. "They could be anywhere!"

Trembling from the cold, Aida (they were close enough now to see clearly enough, though Daisy continued glaring at her companion and thrashing at the water so that she didn't notice the waiting gentlemen) looked straight at her male counterpart before speaking.

"Anywhere being here."

"Edmund!" Margaret cried, stunning the King when she stumbled forward to tackle him in a hug. That was the last thing he had ever expected her to do! It wasn't until Aida winked at him and reluctantly bowed her head to Cadal in greeting that he finally returned the embrace. Whatever the reason for the change, their avian friend obviously had had something to do with it.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	27. Part 2: Terra

Thanks ToryTigress92 and Ella Unlimited for you reviews!

My sincerest apologies for the little update delay! School, music, college auditions, and the flu have been ruling my life. :P

Just as a quick note, the book/maturity scenario of the first little segment here is based on a scene in the first or second (I forget which exactly) season of _Pysch_.

Dido's "Sand in My Shoes" is with scene 5...  
(I re-uploaded this chapter because there were a few spelling errors that were, frankly, bugging me)

Part 2: Terra

The day following the end of Eustace's experiences as a dragon, the two boys from Earth were skipping rocks in the surf, enjoying the warmth of the sand between their toes. It was an utter relief to have the annoying, spoiled, high-society brat in such a pleasantly caring state.

"I may be mistaken," the other boy addressed Edmund, "but you and Margaret sure seem…closer since this all started. I heard you whine about that girl plenty of times to Lucy over the summer, but what I'm seeing is the stark opposite."

"So?" Ed mumbled back, wondering how stargazing and splashing each other in the water constituted as 'closer'.

"Well, with the way you were talking, I thought she was some horrible, immature, selfish witch who took pleasure in nothing but stabbing you in the back."

The boy's eyebrows shot up in disbelief and guilt.

"…I guess I was a little hard on her. But, at the time, she deserved it. Now…" He looked back near the nearby tree line where the young woman in question was in a hammock under a large tarp, reading. "She's just so mature."

The reformed Eustace laughed, receiving a glare. Edmund's distraction meant that he didn't notice Daisy's attention being completely on him…not the book. In fact, the book had been a ruse to cover up her singular attention.

With Ed not looking, the mature damsel turned the book right side up.

* * *

"So, the Calormene envoy will be arriving in a week to trade." The squatty, hairy little dwarf looked suspiciously at the black-haired beauty sitting across the paper-covered table in a midnight blue frock. "Tell me you're not goin' to make me lead negotiations with these guys."

The lady looked up at him coyly from a weathered old scroll.

"And, pray, why shouldn't I? You handled the last representative quite efficiently."

"Yes, but these are _Calormene_," he emphasized, trying to avoid lowering himself to…oh, fiddlesticks and thingummies! "I…we…it requires someone…someone with your talents."

An amused smile flitted across her lovely face as she gracefully leaned her elbow on the desk.

"Talents, Dear Little Friend? Could you mean my experience, my terrifyingly old age and wisdom, or the fact that I'm a woman and can use my feminine charm to get what we want?" While the gruff dwarf attempted to stutter out excuses for how ridiculous he was to even think such assumptions, she interrupted cheerfully. "Do not worry yourself so much, Trumpkin. I will not leave you alone to face such men as these. I was wanting to see if those foreigners had any of their exotic fruits."

* * *

"_We want something that the girls can do for us," the Chief Voice said._

Being sent on a simple, if frightening, quest that even a bunch of invisible idiots were too afraid to endeavor was not something that Daisy had ever had in mind as a way to spend her morning. Nevertheless, there she was: tiptoeing along beside sweet little Lucy down the grotesque corridor. Apparently, the supposedly evil master of the house wouldn't attack 'little girls' or find them intimidating. There were terribly frightening things on the walls…portraits, artwork, and mirrors that portrayed things which sent the imagination running with all sorts of horrors. Lucy even glued herself to the older lady's coat sleeve at one point after an encounter with a horrendous, mustached looking glass.

The finally-achieved room that they had been directed to find was a well-lit, book-filled space. The magic book they were looking for (the one that would bring the unseen people into the visible world) was sitting on a reading desk in the middle of the room, the dusty, large tome forcing any reader to turn their back to the gaping doorway. Lucy tried closing the door…in fact, both of them did…but, for some odd reason, it refused to budge and they were subjected to turning their backs to the vulnerable entrance.

Giving Lucy an encouraging little smile, Margaret began slowing turning the pages of the giant volume, looking for an enchantment that would help their strange new friends. The Warder paused on a spell about thirty pages in that had something to do with riches…after the incantations against warts and beestings. While Lucy was staring at her companion quizzically, Daisy read the description:

_**An unfailing spell that will render the one who recites it above all in the riches received. **_

There were also pictures; the first was of a skinny, shapeless girl in pitiful clothes of simple cotton, sitting alone in a plain, dull house, with the girl looking very much like Daisy. The second again showed her, though with a frightening look on her face as the image recited the enchantment. The third once more displayed Margie; however, this time, she was surrounded by smiling people and wore a dazzling dress and stunning jewelry as she showed off her mansion to her countless friends. The following images were more of the same.

At first, the temptation to recite the words and gain everything she ever wanted was practically impossible to fight; however, she then looked at Lucy and remembered all of the things she would have missed out on with Narnia and the Pevensies if she had actually possessed all of those riches. If she did something like this, she would lose all chances of getting Edmund back, as seemed so possible lately. The price wasn't worth the reward.

Quickly flipping the page away from that terror, Daisy left her companion to the searching, not noticing how transfixed the child was by the present print. On a nearby shelf, she caught sight of a statue in the shape of a lion… He seemed to be smiling at her. It felt so…satisfying…to know that Aslan would be proud of her refusal of the temptation.

"I will say the spell," the girl said quietly behind her. "I don't care. I will."

Just when the teen turned to inquire what Lu meant, the Queen gasped and turned the page, nearly ripping it in her haste.

* * *

The beautiful girl in the blue dress with yellow hair had just finished her explanation of the missing lords' fate of falling asleep due to the mysterious stone knife. Some of them were curious about the article, others skeptical as they gazed at the feast laid out before them.

"What is this Knife of Stone?" queried Eustace.

"Do none of you know it?" the strange lady returned, catching the gaze of a clearly love-struck Caspian.

Lucy, however, spoke before young King could.

"I-I think I've seen something like it before. It was a knife like it that the White Witch used when she killed Aslan at the Stone Table long ago."

"It was the same, and it was brought here to be kept in honor while the world lasts."

An increasingly uncomfortable Edmund eventually halted a would-be awkward silence.

"Look here, I hope I'm not a coward – about eating this food, I mean – and I'm sure I don't mean to be rude. But we have had a lot of queer adventures on this voyage of ours and things aren't always what they seem. When I look in your face I can't help believing all you say: but then that's just what might happen with a witch too. How are we to know you're a friend?"

"You can't know," the girl replied calmly. "You can only believe – or not."

After a moment, Reepicheep piped up, speaking to King Caspian.

"Sire, of your courtesy fill my cup with wine from that flagon: it is too big for me to lift. I will drink to the lady." Once the monarch obliged, the little creature stood on top of the table and raised the golden goblet with his little paws. "Lady, I pledge you."

With that, he instigated the adventurers' taking their part of the great feast. Daisy, however, mutually stepped aside from hearing range of the meal with the angelic lady, not unnoticed by Edmund or Caspian. During her years in Narnia, she had heard of the supposed island of plenty. She had even met a star shortly after its falling and helped it to gain a ship for his search in finding the mysterious land, him assuring her that the kindness would not be forgotten by his fellow beings. But that was a long time ago…of course, the native girl seemed to recognize the Warder of old.

"It is an honor to have you at this table, Warder Margaret," said the beauty.

"I would say that I speak for myself and the other children from Earth when I say that it is an honor to be here," Margie answered, cringing, "but Edmund is just trying to be careful."

"He does seem quite experienced, which I suppose isn't surprising, since he did after all help to rule Narnia for more than a decade."

The brunette looked away thoughtfully.

"It wasn't the ruling that made him cautious… The White Witch deceived him sorely before he became what he is today. She deceived both of us…"

"Warder Margaret," the lady abruptly offered, breaking Daisy's train of thought and oddly biting her lip, "…why is King Caspian still looking at us?"

'Warder Margaret' chuckled, amused at the sudden change of the solemn-turned-blushing young woman.

"He's looking at _you_. And I think you'll find out soon enough."

Shaking her head and suddenly feeling incredibly experienced in the ways of love, she followed the call of her growling stomach, giving Edmund's hand a quick squeeze before reaching for a hunk of bird meat.

* * *

A bright light and a terrifyingly loud noise sent three rats and a cockroach scurrying away as a body came crashing into one of the wooden boxes piled along the alley, completely destroying it. After a moment of silence, a groan emitted from the newly-appeared young woman as she rolled onto the dirty pavement, clutching her head from the would-be bruise caused by her fall.

Suddenly realizing her lonely position, however, the girl leapt to her feet, racing out of the back street and onto the road, where she stood frozen in place. Having previously been dazzled by the flash upon her arrival, Daisy's recovering eyes saw the light…literally. At first, the weary Warder thought that, by some miracle, time had actually gone backwards and she hadn't missed her boat after all…but then she realized that she was merely staring at a nearby street lamp and quickly went about her business of trying to find the dock and a ship to England when people started staring at _her_.

Walking down the street with her dirt-stained clothes and more than a few bruises, Margaret felt (and probably looked) as if she were in a daze. Leaving Narnia had always had a certain shocking affect…like waking from a dream that seemed more real than even reality, only to be awakened by a bucket of freezing water over your head… But there was something different about this time from any other. There was a certain permanence about it…a certain cold, nauseating sensation in her stomach that told of a doom. The next time she saw the land where her heart slowly seemed to be leaving itself, it wouldn't be the same…not 'not the same' in the sense of people taking over Narnia and Telmarines being in charge (no offense to dear Caspian), but 'not the same' in a foreboding, end-of-the-world kind of way.

The young woman shook off the terrible feeling as a simple case of some sort of separation anxiety, but it didn't stop her from musing a bit on her last hours in that marvelous world.

_Almost quivering with excitement, Daisy strode to the very front of the ship and leaned against the railing, with only the dragonhead as her companion. Ever since her victory over her greed on the island of invisible creepy people, it seemed as if a great weight had been taken from her shoulders. Questions plagued her mind as she stared at her reflection below the anchored ship, but she had the feeling that there would be answers soon enough when the water slowly formed the huge reflection of a certain Lion peering over the railing beside her own image. _

"_We missed you," she commented quietly, still looking at the watery aura._

_He seemed to smile kindly. _

"_You have done well, dear one," Aslan responded, His rumbling voice feeling soothing to her ears._

"_Did I, though? After all I did in America, chasing after my own greed, and in England, brushing off my dearest friends as though they meant nothing… Do I really deserve for that to be called a victory?"_

_She blushed, feeling like a little child asking a parent, 'Did I do good?'_

_The giant shook His majestic head._

"_What is a victory when there are no struggles to overcome? What is a victory that is handed to you without a price? What is a victory without the realization of mistakes and failings? They are part of life, but the choices you make to correct those mistakes and overcome those hardships are the very things that give you strength and character, and allow you to claim your reward without shame. While it took Edmund's separation from you to realize your mistake in pursuing him like a deer that is too young to be hunted, you learned from that error and you are now correcting it with your renewed friendship. While the regard and riches you would receive for your inventions was incredibly tempting, you realized that it would take away those you loved. Once you have secured that denial, you only have to wait for the reward."_

"_Why did you bring me here before the test was even complete?"_

"_You…needed a little nudge."_

"_Wait," she cut in, breaking off a laugh at the previous comment, "…reward? Lust and greed? Those were the tests? That's it?"_

_He was obviously amused._

"_Were you hoping for more?"_

"_Uh, no! I just…I can't believe that it's really over…or practically over. And the reward?"_

"_It will come later. For now, you have a life to live in your world and, while you still have your task to protect this land on your part, you will not return to Narnia until it breathes its final breath."_

_The girl's heart seemed to stop beating. Not return to Narnia until its end? It was impossible to believe!_

"_Not return…I can't come back?"_

"_Lucy and Edmund will not be able to return either, though it is a little different for them. They are too old, while you, daughter of Narnia, have a duty to continue and fulfill on Earth."_

_Slowly comprehending His words, another thought suddenly dawned on her._

"_Has Kate finished her tests? How did she do?"_

"_Kathryn has one more test to pass, which may be even more difficult than her first, though it will take far less time to complete. Go now to your friends, child. You will see me soon enough." _

_When she returned from the bow, she found the others waiting for her. Caspian was in the middle of his sorrowful explanation that he couldn't travel to Aslan's Country with them. The only reason she didn't completely pity him was because he would soon enough see the lovely star-lady._

_SSSSS_

_Margaret looked up with a smile at the Eagle and Falcon flying above their heads, flying about and teasing each other as they had been for the past two days. The children had abandoned their grounded boat several minutes (or it could have been hours) before and were presently wading through the warm, shallow water with the strange giant green wave ever on their left. Whether minutes or hours passed, none of them felt at all tired. Margie found herself holding hands with Ed and continuing to watch the Birds' evident courting even as the water became shallower than ever, eventually turning into dry sand and, soon, a grassy plain._

_Ahead, against the perfectly flat, vividly green grass, was a white…something...which eventually turned out to be a Lamb. When they were close enough, it actually spoke to them, saying,_

"_Come and have breakfast."_

_After they seated themselves, the Lamb presently turned into the Lion they all knew and loved. Moments after that, guilt overcame Daisy when Lucy reacted to the information that she and her brother would not be returning to Narnia._

"_Oh, Aslan!"_

"_You are too old, children, and you must begin to come close to your own world now."_

_That was when Edmund just had to notice the older girl's furrowed brow. How would she ever tell him that she would be returning, even if it would be at Narnia's end, while he could not?_

"_Margie…she won't be coming back either, will she?"_

"_As a Warder of Narnia, she has the right."_

_She cringed, but all the boy said was,_

"_I'm glad." _

_After many tears shed and words of farewell given, Aslan opened up a hole in the air for the other children to return to Earth. Margaret went through another to finish her test. _

As the ship pulled into the harbor of its final destination, Daisy was glad for having purchased a more comfortable, simpler blue dress while waiting for the earliest-departing sea-faring craft. Especially when she stood on the deck, it made her almost feel like she was back on the _Dawn Treader_. The only thing missing was Edmund to share it with her. With nothing but her purse and a small bag with last-minute-attained necessities (including a small knife to hide on her person), the girl walked down the provided ramp, looking for the unlikely familiar face in the crowd. Shockingly enough, she found it.

"Edmund!" she practically screamed, shoving past the multitude between the two friends.

With shocking force, Margie charged into the boy's embrace, causing him to emit a resounding 'oof' before Aunt Polly interrupted, nearly crushing the girl with her relieved hug.

"When I discovered that you weren't on the ship, I just knew that something terrible had happened!" the elderly woman exclaimed, trying to hide the circles under her eyes with a bright smile. "But dear Edmund was there the day I arrived and explained everything, though I'm not going to even ask how he got away from his aunt and uncle. You certainly gave me a scare, child."

"I'm so sorry!" the teenager earnestly replied. "Like Ed probably said, I was…" She paused when someone else joined the little group. "…held up."

"Miss Benten?" the sly- and familiar-looking man questioned.

"Oh, dear, you remember Mr. Philips (one of the contract fellows), don't you?" Polly's eyes indicated that she wasn't too thrilled with 'Mr. Philips'. "He actually came on the same boat that I was on in hopes of discussing your inventions and profits, but…"

"…but, of course, you weren't there," he interrupted, opening his page-filled briefcase. "I'm so sorry that you missed the ship…a terrible pity. Anyway, I was hoping if I could…"

"Don't bother," the lady stated, her countenance suddenly darkening.

"Pardon me?"

"Margaret?" the grandmother questioned worriedly, though not out of concern for the inevitably profitable agreement.

"Don't bother," she repeated firmly, opening her purse and bringing into view the contract itself, signed and dated. "This little document and all that it stands for almost ruined my life." With that, she held the folded paper up and slowly tore it in half. "And, if you even think about going ahead and making any of my inventions, you'll sorely regret it. I don't need a guilty conscience when someone accidentally freezes time for the wrong people."

With Aunt Polly gaping and Edmund grinning like an idiot, Daisy led them away from the weasel of man and out of the crowd.

"Well done, Margie!" the lad congratulated, with Polly nodding in stunned agreement.

"How about I treat you two to some ice cream?"

* * *

"Twenty carts of timber from the Old Forest for our grain."

The other diplomat scoffed.

"I'm not going to let you go chopping away at our precious Trees. _They_ certainly wouldn't let you. You'll get no more than _ten_ carts of limber from the forest south of here and _my_ men will cut the trees." The dark man hesitantly nodded. "Now, I would like to discuss this fruit that you have called…bananas as part of our trade agreement. I can offer…"

She stopped short when one of the delegate's aides scurried into the room and proceeded to whisper in his boss's ear. Kathryn cringed at the hissing noise that the air squeezing through his teeth made, but the fool didn't hush his voice quite enough for her trained ears as he growled,

"Sir, we just received news from Kyrak that the Warder got away."

"Well, tell them to go back and get her," the representative reprimanded.

"They can't."

"What do you…?" He looked suspiciously at Kathryn, who feigned ignorance and pretended to be looking through her papers, resulting in his own fake grin. "What do you mean 'they can't'?"

"They tried, but the stones from Tash's temple aren't working anymore."

"Did you ever discover who stole the fifth stone?"

"No, sire. The culprit escaped before they could apprehend her…but apparently she helped the Warder escape."

"The Tarkaan will be very disappointed. Where is Kyrak?"

"He's in your quarters. He is badly wounded."

Suddenly, the ambassador rose. The Warder, of course, stood in respect.

"I apologize, but something has come up which requires my immediate attention. Do you mind if we return to these negotiations tomorrow morning?"

"Not at all," she answered, grinning until he left, at which point she collapsed into her seat. Still, there was a slight smirk on her face.

"What's so funny?" Trumpkin asked from the corner. "Did your keen ears catch something over there?"

She laughed.

"Apparently, my cousin has been busy."

Thanks for reading and please review! Again, sorry for the delay!


	28. Heart of Feather, Heart of Stone

Thanks Calyn, ToryTigress92, Ella Unlimited, and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!

I am so sorry for my delay in updating! I had every intention of posting sooner, especially since I had a week off from school, but a cold, me getting temporarily tired of referencing the Narnia books for the darn lines, and the overpowering urge to write an X-Men fanfic stopped basically all progress on this chapter, which has now turned out to be longer than expected, again forcing me to split it into two. _So_, you get yet another extension on this story. Yay! (I guess)

Anyway, on the topic of that X-Men story, if any of you are interested in it, let me know and I'll go ahead and start to refine and post it. Basically, it's placed after the X-Men movie trilogy (after a few of my favorite characters are killed off) and has practically nothing to do with movie scripts or the comics, going along with my at-the-time distaste for constantly referencing the original work. It focuses on my female OC, who arrives at the mutant school as the new resident doctor, bringing with her many old and thought-to-be-gone friends and enemies, mild romance, and plenty of mystery as she seeks answers about her past. Logan is a big part of it all, just to let any Wolverine-lovers know. Please let me know if you're interested! Hopefully, I'll start posting it in a few weeks...maybe less. Ciao!

Heart of Feather, Heart of Stone

The children, to say the least, were rather discouraged by the Owls' news that there was a possibility of Caspian never returning to Narnia from his venture on the sea. That meant that they had muffed the first sign of the quest to find the king's son, Rillian, already…and the actual journey hadn't even started! Sadly, this entire venture back in the Pevensies' magical world was starting off even rougher than Eustace's first experience nearly six months ago, which had been bad enough with the seasickness.

Despite their being sent by Aslan to rescue the Prince from his uncertain fate, Rillian having disappeared a good ten years previously, apparently the children weren't getting any official royal help since the Lord Regent, the dwarf called Trumpkin, whom Scrubb had heard of before, was refusing to send anyone else on the search; apparently more than thirty champions had gone on the quest and never returned.

"Then there's no good waiting for him to come back?" Jill, the boy's little female companion questioned despairingly, clearly feeling very disappointed in herself for her part in their failure.

"No, no good," Glimfeather, the lead Owl replied, his voice coming somewhere from the mass of giant owl bodies that crowded the dark meeting room in the strange ruin. "Oh, what a to-do! If only you two had known and spoken to him at once! He'd have arranged everything – probably given you an army to go with you in search of the Prince."

Feeling quite rotten about the whole affair, Eustace couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Well, it wasn't my fault," though he held back any further sentiments concerning who was to blame. Then, a thought suddenly came to his mind and he addressed the Owls once more.

"Wait one minute. During my last time in this place, I heard about this immortal lady or something who's supposed to solve these Narnian problems. Where is she in all this? Wouldn't she help?"

After a brief tu-wooing, Glimfeather sadly responded,

"The Warder Katarina and her lovely companion, the Falcon Aida, were the first to disappear on the quest to find the Prince. All that was found in regards to the search for those two ancient protectors was the Warder's bare sword hardly a mile away from the site of the Queen's death."

* * *

It had been days and days since the children had begun their journey through the land of Giants with their worrisome guide, Puddleglum, a Marshwiggle with a dwarfish body, spindly arms and legs that brought him to the height of a man, a muddy complexion, weedy hair, and a long, sad face. Snow became a more frequent sight than preferred and, at night, the biting cold kept them from having any incredibly great amount of sleep. Hope of finding the ruins of the ancient Giant city was finally kindled, however, as they discovered a huge, crumbling bridge that would save great pains in crossing the river which separated them from the opposite side of the great valley.

As they finally reached the top of the bridge, the great height bringing incredibly cold air and the holes in the crossing making it a very precarious quest, they saw what appeared to be an ancient Giant road…and on that road, coming towards the bridge, were three figures.

"Keep on. Move toward them," Puddleglum encouraged in a very not encouraging tone. "Anyone you meet in a place like this is as likely as not to be an enemy, but we mustn't let them think we're afraid."

They did as he said, but, by the time the trio stepped from the bridge and back onto the grass, the strangers were incredibly close. One was a knight in complete black armor with his visor down; he sat on a great black horse and held a spear and a shield, neither of which possessed a mark or name of any sort to identify him by. The second was a stunningly beautiful, tall lady in a dazzling green dress, riding an exquisite white horse and looking very much like a queen. The third was another lady with a large falcon on her shoulder on a spotty grey mare, wearing a pale lavender gown, likely of cotton, and a dark purple, almost black, veil wrapped around her head and face; this whole getup left only her pale, long-fingered hands, shoeless feet, and eyes (like water lapping against the beach on a warm June day) visible.

All in all, they were a very strange group to come across in such a savage land. In the end, it was the Lady in green who addressed the adventurers, with a delightful voice and trilling R's.

"Good day, travelers," she said. "Some of you are young pilgrims to walk this rough waste."

"That's as may be, Ma'am," replied the Marshwiggle, very much on his guard.

"We're looking for the ruined city of the giants," Jill put in eagerly, desperate to finally get something right in this quest.

"The ruined city?" the great Lady said. "That is a strange place to be seeking. What will you do if you find it?"

"We've got to…"

Jill didn't have the chance to finish her explanation as Puddleglum interrupted her.

"Begging your pardon, Ma'am. But we don't know you or your friends – silent characters, aren't they? – and you don't know us. And we'd as soon not talk to strangers about our business, if you don't mind. Shall we have a little rain soon, do you think?"

The Lady, calling herself 'She of the Green Kirtle', laughed her wondrous, musical laugh and went on to tell them of a Giant city called Harfang where they would be able to rest, bathe, and sleep in real beds. This news, of course, was incredibly welcome as all three of the travelers were very much hungry and chilled to the bone. The only thing that seemed 'off' to Jill as the other trio went up the slope of the bridge was that the silent woman in lavender turned, her expressive eyes shining sadly, just before she followed her mistress.

"Well!" Puddleglum finally exclaimed. "I'd give a good deal to know where _she's_ coming from and where she's going. Not the sort you expect to meet in the wilds of Giantland, is she? Up to no good, I'll be bound."

"Oh rot!" Scrubb countered. "I thought she was simply super. And think of hot meals and warm rooms. I do hope Harfang isn't a long way off."

"Same here," said Jill. "And hadn't she a scrumptious dress? And the horse!"

"All the same," continued their solemn guide, "I wish we knew a bit more about her."

"I _was_ going to ask her all about herself. But how could I when you wouldn't tell her anything about us?"

"Yes," the boy concurred. "And why were you so stiff and unpleasant? Didn't you like them?"

"Them?" was the response. "Who's _them_? I only saw one, plus a ghost in a purple bed sheet."

"Didn't you see the knight?" the female queried.

"I saw a suit of armor. Why didn't he speak?"

"I expect he was shy. Or perhaps he just wants to look at her and listen to her lovely voice. I'm sure I would if I was him."

"I was wondering what you'd really see if you lifted up the visor of that helmet and looked inside."

"And the eyes of that other lady!"

"Hang it all," Scrubb growled, glaring at Puddleglum and nearly starting a rather heated quarrel about what else other than a man could possibly be in that suit of armor.

* * *

Peter Pevensie sat on a bench in the shade of a large oak tree on the university grounds. While a few people passed by occasionally, this particular spot, hidden away behind two of the smaller buildings, provided the precise quiet he needed to study…momentarily, the subject was History.

It had been a few years since the Pevensies and Bentens had wandered into the Wardrobe for their marvelous adventure in Narnia and Kathryn had stayed behind as the Warder of Narnia. It had immensely vexed him that, when Lucy, Edmund, and Daisy had returned from their adventures with Caspian aboard the _Dawn Treader_, they had been unable to give him any information about Kathryn beyond the fact that she was 'well'. At the university, he tried to keep his studies at the forefront of everything, though Narnia inevitably remained on his mind. He had turned away every girl who flirted with him and even kept a sketch he had drawn of Kate on his dresser.

"Excuse me?"

Peter looked up to find a pale, tall girl of about twenty with dark eyes and luxurious black hair that cascaded over her shoulders in generous, tangled curls. She smiled down at the young man with a brilliant smile that, oddly, quite captivated him.

"May I help you, miss?"

"Well, I have been scouring the entire campus for some nice place to study and…well, all the decent spots are filled. I was wondering if I could share with you."

"Sure," he instantly replied, moving some of his materials to clear the other half of the bench. "My name is Peter."

"I'm Tess. It's nice to meet. What are you studying?"

"History," he answered with a roll of the eyes. Tess, on the other hand, perked right up at the word.

"I love history! You can learn all sorts of things from it about battles, strategy, the way people think, how to manipulate them, and…oh, it's just fascinating!"

Peter couldn't help but laugh at the woman's peculiar views, but he struck up a conversation along the lines of ancient warfare anyway.

* * *

Only a couple of days had passed since the children had encountered the Lady of the Green Kirtle and been sent nearly to their deaths in the hands of the Man- and Marshwiggle-eating Giants in Harfang. It had all started out quite pleasant, with hot baths, delicious food, and generous hosts. Then, they had discovered that they were to be part of the menu in an upcoming feast and were forced to flee. Snow, freezing temperatures, and the knowledge that they had actually passed up the sign of the writing on the stone, snuffing yet another sign, made that part of their trip acutely miserable. After that, they had discovered the passage in the deep carvings that made up the way and fell down a terrible, treacherous, gravel-covered slope, only to be met at the bottom by hideous creatures, who had taken them deep into the earth and onto a dark boat.

Their captors had been rowing for what could have been a few hours or a few days (they couldn't tell because the only light came from the strange, pale lamps of the gnomes) before they finally reached their destination: a gloomy city of sorts on a mountain in a giant cavern with a great castle on top. It was to this castle that the travelers were led, followed by the inner courtyard, then staircase after staircase before they reached a long hallway with light (real light!) coming through a doorway at the end, apparently at the top of another, winding staircase.

At the bottom of these stairs stood two Earthen guards, to whom the travelers' sentinel spoke, as if a password,

"Many sink down to the Underworld."

"And few return to the sunlit lands," the other two responded, completing the mantra the children had heard constantly since skidding into this dreary place before all three of the gnomes put their heads together, speaking quietly until the two spoke up again. "I tell you the Queen's grace is gone from hence on her great affair. We had best keep these top dwellers in strait prison till her homecoming. Few return to the sunlit lands."

Suddenly, these grim, depressing creatures were interrupted by what Jill thought to be the most delightful sound ever coming from the top of the stairs: the clear, ringing, wonderfully human voice of a young man.

"What coil are you keeping down there, Mullugutherum?" the welcoming voice shouted. "Overworlders, ha! Bring them up to me, and that presently."

"Please it your Highness to remember," Mullugutherum began, only to be cut short.

"It pleases my Highness principally to be obeyed, old mutterer. Bring them up."

Shaking his head, their sad guide motioned for the three to follow him and proceeded up the stairs. To the 'overworlders' delight, the light increased as they ascended, eventually reaching a cheerful, warm glow, and, upon passing through the curtain at the top of the stairs, they discovered the room to be richly tapestried, with bright fire on a clean hearth, and red wine and cut glass on the kingly table. A young man with fair hair rose from a seat at the table to greet them. He was handsome and looked both bold and kind, though there was something about his face that didn't seem quite right. He was dressed in black and altogether looked a little bit like Hamlet.

Kneeling beside the chair the man had just vacated was a pale young woman with silky black hair cascading down her back and over her shoulders in a pale lavender dress, looking ready to serve the slightest whim of any present with her outward meekness.

"Welcome, Overworlders!" the man cried enthusiastically. "But stay a moment! I cry you mercy! I have seen you two fair children, and this, your strange governor, before. Was it not you three that met me by the bridge on the borders of Ettinsmoor when I rode there by my Lady's side?"

"Oh…you were the black knight who never spoke?" Jill exclaimed innocently, suddenly recognizing the crouching woman. "And she must be the veiled lady?"

"And was that lady the Queen of Underland?" Puddleglum asked with a less-than-friendly tone. Scrubb also burst out with his say.

"Because if it was, I think she was jolly mean to send us off to a castle of giants who intended to eat us. What harm had we ever done her, I should like to know?"

Upon hearing that line, the silent lady noiselessly unsheathed a small dagger that they hadn't seen before, setting it at ready in her lap with a grimace. While the man motioned for her to stay at bay, he distinctly frowned with his response.

"How? If you were not so young a warrior, Boy, you and I must have fought to the death on this quarrel. I can hear no words against my Lady's honor. But of this you may be assured, that whatever she said to you, she said of good intent. You do not know her. She is a nosegay of all virtues, as truth, mercy, constancy, gentleness, courage, and the rest. I say what I know. Her kindness to me alone, who can in no way reward her, would make an admirable history. But you shall know and love her hereafter. Meanwhile, what is your errand in the Deep Lands?"

Jill, though she feared the possibility of being among the Prince's enemies, then offered their reasoning as being the search for Prince Rillian of Narnia. The dark man, however, showed no apparent interest in the name; in fact, he went so far as to laugh at the very serious matter of their search, denying the existence of such a person in the Underland. This incident caused Jill to wonder if the reason for the 'wrongness' of his face was perhaps because he was a bit silly in the head. Though she didn't note it at that moment, it was actually the kneeling girl who widened her eyes at the Prince's name.

Shockingly, he also laughed at the explanation of following the carving in the stone of the old giant city that said 'UNDER ME', distressing them with the news that the words were simply what was left of a much longer passage that had nothing to do with their query, the other words probably having been destroyed by time and removal. And he again insulted their quest by disbelieving Puddleglum's reference to Aslan's purpose in helping them, including with the stone words, calling Him a 'long liver' to remember when the words had been carved.

"And it seems to me, Sir," the solemn, stalwart guide answered, "that this Lady of yours must be a long liver too, if she remembers the verse as it was when they first cut it."

"Very shrewd, Frog-face," said the Knight, laughing again and clapping the Marshwiggle on the shoulder. "And you have hit the truth. She is of divine race, and knows neither age nor death. I am the more thankful to her for all her infinite bounty to such a poor wretch as I. For you must know, Sirs, I am a man under most strange afflictions, and none but the Queen's grace would have had the patience with me. Patience, said I?

"But it goes far beyond that. She has promised me a great kingdom in Overland and, when I am king, her own most gracious hand in marriage. But the tale is too long for you to hear fasting and standing. Hi there, some of you!" he called towards the curtain. "Bring Updwellers' food for my guests. Please you, be seated, gentlemen. Little maiden, sit in this chair. You shall hear it all. Rina, bring more wine."

As she took her seat and 'Rina', the previously kneeling woman, headed for another curtained doorway other than the one they had entered through, Jill piped up before the Knight could continue his story.

"Before you go on, Sir, I noticed that, while you clearly did not recognize Prince Rilian's name, Rina here seemed to."

The woman ignored the reference to her and continued on out, leaving the Knight to reply.

"Rina is always very interested in the outside world. Anyway, continuing with my tragic and wondrous tale…"

Once the meal (which consisted of pigeon pie, cold ham, salad, and cakes) had been served by a few of strange gnomes and Rina was back to kneeling beside the Knight, now holding a pitcher of wine and rising to fill anyone's glass whenever it was nearly emptied, the young man continued with his tale, telling them of how the spell, his supposed 'affliction', caused him for an hour every night to go mad and attack everyone around him and later to become a huge, loathsome, deadly snake. Apparently, he awoke from the fit returned to his 'normal' self, if somewhat wearied, with no memory of the whole episode.

According to this Black Knight, the enchantment could only be broken when his Lady crowned him king of one of the countries in the Overland; until then, he had to be bound during his fits to prevent him from turning into a snake. In order to rid himself of the curse and be crowned king of an Overworld land, the Queen of the Underland was leading the gnomes in digging a tunnel up to the surface from which they would soon emerge with their armies and conquer an unsuspecting nation.

"It's a bit rough luck on _them_, isn't it?" Scrubb suggested, referring to the clueless Uplanders.

"Thou art a lad of a wondrous, quick-working wit!" the man exclaimed. "For, on my honor, I had never thought of it so before." He looked very slightly troubled for a moment at this, but his face soon cleared and he broke out with another one of his laughs,

"But fie on gravity! Is it not the most comical and ridiculous thing in the world to think of them all going about their business and never dreaming that under their peaceful fields and floors, only a fathom down, there is a great army ready to break out upon them like a fountain! And they never to have suspected! Why, they themselves, when once the first smart of their defeat is over, can hardly choose but laugh at the thought!"

"I don't think it's funny at all," a disgusted Jill protested. "I think you'll be a wicked tyrant."

The next few minutes were spent in such continuous argumentative prattle to a point where all three guests mutually thought of him as a selfish, conceited, foolish baby; then, the Knight suddenly lost his enthusiasm and waved away the disregarded Rina, who obediently set the pitcher of wine on the table, collected a small plate of the victuals for herself, and disappeared past the curtain that she had previously used. Seeing the young human girl watching the other female sadly leave, their host explained,

"Friends, my hour is very near. Rina cannot stay (she is loyal and has a kind heart, but is too eager when it comes to my affliction) and I am ashamed that you should see me yet I dread being left alone. They will come in presently and bind me hand and foot to yonder chair. Alas, so it must be: for in my fury, they tell me, I would destroy all that I could reach."

"I say," replied Scrubb, "I'm awfully sorry about your enchantment of course, but what will those fellows do to _us_ when they come to bind you? They talked of putting us in prison. And we don't like all those dark places very much. We'd much rather stay here until you're…better…if we may."

Though it was apparently custom for only the Queen to stay with the Knight during that dreaded hour, he gave them permission to find sanctuary from the gnomes in the apartments beyond the curtain Rina had disappeared through moments before, also offering for them to return to the dining room during his fit or wait until he came for them.

After following the directions into another lighted corridor and trying several doors, the travelers came upon water for washing and even a looking glass in a lounging room of some sort with numerous couches and pillows around. Just as Jill was about to reach for one of the luxuriant washrags to at least clean her hands and face, a soft cooing voice called from the room across the hall:

"Little girl, there is no need for you to remain confined in such travel-worn clothes. Please come into my quarters and rid yourself of the dust and grime that keeps the exhaustion of travel clinging to your flesh."

Curious that Rina (for the servant girl it was) was actually talking and feeling perfectly safe in the presence of so seemingly a gentle creature, Jill excused herself from Scrubb and Puddleglum's presence and walked into the other room. Though it was smaller than the other space and possessed only two cushioned couches, it was just as bright and very much well supplied, with towels and a white marble tub filled with steaming hot water in one corner and a small table just stuffed with exquisite dresses of all shapes and sizes in the other. The plate of food that had been previously snatched sat untouched on the table. Just then, she realized how thin and starved the woman looked.

As the kind, quiet lady helped her into the large bathtub and proceeded to sit in the chair next to the mass of clothes, sewing a stocking as the girl scrubbed away the grime, Jill asked,

"How do you have all these gowns down here when there's nothing but poverty and gloom all around? Do you go to a market to buy material when you go above ground with the Lady?"

Rina didn't even pause in her work.

"The Queen is gracious enough to supply me with the fabric. Sometimes, I use a loom to make my own cloth. I work on these when _he_ is taken by the curse. It was almost as though I was waiting for someone else to come along and try one of them. And here you are."

"You come in here when the Knight is...in his fit?"

Just then, Rina reached behind her and locked a previously hidden shackle to her wrist that had a five-foot chain attached to the wall. After that, she merely went back to sewing, her fingers quickly flicking in practiced motion.

"The Queen found me wandering in the forest soon after she had taken _him_ in. (He says that I do not show my gratitude enough.) I had no memory, no identity, and no evidence on my person to indicate where I had come from other than my desperation to find the Knight. Somehow, I am connected to _him_ and his curse; I try to free him from his bonds and release the Snake. This…project…is the only way I can sedate myself, so it has grown to enormous proportions. I can only hope that the curse is removed so that I may seek my true identity and no longer be bound to _him_."

"If you don't like the Knight, then why do you grant his every wish and sit at his feet like some slave."

Suddenly stopping her mild labor, Rina smiled sadly.

"You mistake my passionate love for hatred? I am sorry if I misled you. From what little the Queen could find, I _am_ a slave: the slave of a cruel tyrant whose only wishes are of self-empowerment, greed, and oppression. I was one of his closest servants, and it was through me that he brought the curse upon _him_."

"Why try to go back to that life when it was so awful?"

"Only to kill my former master and return to serve the Black Knight and his radiant Queen to the end of my days. As I am undeserving of him, the most I can do is serve him with all my heart and soul."

Done with her bath and very much wishing to be back in the familiar company of Eustace and Puddleglum, Jill happily chose a dress that fit her perfectly: a deep green satiny-velvetish, ankle-length frock with comfortably tight long sleeves, a V-neckline, and delicate golden swirls of threaded embroidery all along the bodice and flowing skirt. With a thank you and goodbye, she eagerly left the sad lady to herself. As much as she would have liked to stay and find out more about the girl's tragedy, it was honestly getting a little eerie around the place and she needed something recognizable.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	29. Freedom and Foibles

Well, this chapter ended up being a little shorter than I expected, but I wanted to get it posted before I was too deep into the school week. :P Anyway, thank you everyone for your wonderful support! We are now only three or four chapters away from being done with _Forever Yours_. I am actually really looking forward to the next couple of updates I'll be writing, since they'll focus a bit more on my OCs' own storylines between _The Silver Chair_ and _The Last Battle_, including those of Aida and Cadal.

Well, here you go: the conclusion of _The Silver Chair_. Enjoy!

Freedom and Foibles

_So much time in pointless servitude. So long in the dark…in a fog…only to awake in a frenzy, chained to a wall._

Snapping her head up suspiciously, Kathryn narrowed her eyes at the empty furnished room and disgustedly dropped the sewing materials in her lap. What had happened? How many times had she found clarity in this little corner after dreaming of fondling over pitiful princes and queens and kneeling at the feet of anyone at all?

Suddenly noticing the metal link around her wrist, the woman tested the chain, only to find that it was plenty secure, as she vaguely remembered it being every other night in the past. After a moment of stunned recovery, she noticed the savage cries of a man coming from somewhere down the visible hallway, recognizing it as the voice of Rillian, the prince for whom she had searched tirelessly only to be roped in by the Witch. Tearing from her seat her in a flourish of fabric, the Warder launched herself toward the door, just to be yanked back by the shackle digging into her flesh.

With a scream of rage, she jerked and tugged at the offending cable until she bled. Even then, she didn't stop, not caring that, however many times she had done this exact same thing, the links remained firmly in the wall.

"Your Highness!" she panted after some time. She now remembered hearing him call out to her on countless nights, screaming her name, telling her he was sorry over and over again, and begging for her to save him. It was only natural for him to expect her to come to the rescue. She had always been his hero when he was a small boy, getting him out of tight spots and even saving him from getting trampled by a horse once.

Again she called out.

"Your Highness!" Another tug. "Rillian! Rillian, can you hear me? Blast you, answer, you ridiculously daft fool!"

Just as she finished her course speech, a handsome, blond-haired young man burst through the doorway, covered in sweat and terribly wild-eyed.

"Katarina!" he exclaimed, rushing into the room and grabbing onto the chain.

"You escaped! It's over!"

"Where's the key?"

She slumped onto the floor in exhaustion, near-despair, and relief.

"There isn't one. The Witch unlocks it herself. Find Aida and get out of here."

He growled and, with surprising strength, yanked the chain completely out of the wall. When Kate tied the cord around her waist to keep it from dragging and stood with shock evident on her face, Rillian grinned and grabbed her free hand.

"What kind of a prince would I be to leave you in this place? Come on. Our rescuers are waiting."

Freedom seemed to nearly be in their grasp as they raced down the hallway…until they entered the dining room at the same time as the returning Queen of the Underland.

Kathryn stared blankly at her captor, disgusted that the Witch had made her believe that she loved the Black Knight and horrified at waiting hand-and-foot for anyone, particularly that Witch. Unfortunately, it wasn't really her place to deal with the Lady; it was Rillian's revenge.

* * *

Dressed in a simple, limp black dress, Aida was draped over Kathryn's unsaddled ash-colored horse, resting her head on the gentle beast's neck, twirling her wild hair, and studying the tanned skin on her hand. She liked horses, but being forced to reside in a barn for years on end was a little tiresome, especially with the less-than-talkative company. It wasn't that she was normally too chatty…but this was pathetic.

Any moment now, the curse would once again befall her and she would turn back into a Bird, unable to escape under the threat of Kathryn being killed.

In fact, the transformation should have already occurred.

Cocking her head, the girl sat up and swung her leg around to slide off the horse. Was the curse broken?

"Aida!" She looked at the stable entrance to find Kate, Prince Rillian, and the three travelers from the bridge running in. The Warder began helping her companions in hauling the saddles, smiling with ease. "Time to go."

Hopping onto the Gray behind Kathryn as the entourage emerged onto the street, where fire and water seemed to be creating chaos in the Witch's defeat, Aida muttered to the others,

"If anyone tries to make me sleep in a barn again, I'll change into a Falcon and scratch their eyes out."

The raven-haired lady laughed tiredly.

"I don't think they would even think of trying, old friend. On my part, I'll kill anyone who tries to make me sleep in a hard wooden chair again…and I swear I'll never touch a piece of sewing until the end of the world!"

"Oh, but you made such lovely things!" the young human girl cried, falling silent when the darting gnomes started acting a little hostile.

* * *

_Margaret opened the window of her second story room, cringing when it squeaked slightly in protest. Luckily, however, her roommate only moaned quietly in her sleep before falling silent again. Daisy, barely containing a sigh of relief, hiked up her skirt and crawled out the window, precariously stretching her hand out to grasp a thick branch belonging to the nearby oak tree and soon finding herself shimmying down the oak's trunk below. _

_Once on the ground, the girl spent a few moments picking moss, bark, and twigs from her person while she looked around from her hiding spot to make sure that no one was around the school grounds to see her sneaking out in the middle of the night. With the coast clear, Margaret took the opportunity to dash across the schoolyard and toward the street, finally finding sanctuary in the park down the road and slowing to a wandering walk._

_What she didn't expect to find was another person walking towards her along the dim path. As the figure got closer, Daisy called out,_

"_Ed?" The boy looked up at her, shocked. "What are you doing out here?"_

"_I should be asking you the same thing," he replied laughingly. "I'm not the only one with a strict school curfew."_

"_Um, well, I wouldn't exactly think of you as the rule-breaker type, Just King."_

"_Nevertheless, since we're out here anyway, would you like to walk with me?"_

_Margaret blushed as he took her hand while they headed across the grass._

"_Always."_

"Daisy, are you quite all right?" Lucy asked as the two girls headed to class. "You seem a bit…distracted."

The older girl laughed when her companion stopped at the window to peer out at a group of schoolboys on the other side of the street.

"Which one of us is distracted?"

* * *

Cadal trotted down the stairs of the dormitory, habitually going through the details of his cover, as he had done every morning for the past month, ever since he 'transferred' from another university for his final year. In reality, the lady he was courting, Aida, had practically forced him to return to Earth to keep an eye on the High King at the university he was attending, little did the monarch know.

According to what the teachers and students knew, he was a 22-year-old Literature Major with gold hair, green eyes, and a very contemplative attitude who was now best friends with a first-year named Peter Pevensie. None of them had any clue that he was actually a Transforming Eagle from another world.

"Peter!" he called with his commanding baritone voice as he reached the foyer of sorts to find his charge/friend studying one of the many books the students were subjected to. "Are you ready to go to class?"

The younger man looked up from his work. Something didn't seem quite right…ever since he started hanging around a dark-haired seductress who seemed to have a vendetta of getting close to the High King. The boy had even mentioned the possibility of the girl being Kate somehow managing to visit him on Earth. Cadal knew better. He just didn't know how the new woman fit into the puzzle.

"Carlton, you can go on ahead. I promised Tess that I'd walk with her to class when she got back from meeting her friends."

"Right…I'll meet you there, I guess," 'Carlton' growled, heading for the exit until Peter stopped him.

"Carl, why don't you like Tess?"

"I never said I didn't like her."

* * *

Caspian was dying. She had slept too long. Somehow, between her capture by the Witch and her rescue, the great Narnian king, for a true Narnian he was, despite his Telmarine heritage, had changed from a slightly graying, middle-aged man of tall stature and proud demeanor to a frail ghost of his previous self barely holding onto life.

Admittedly, she really did pity the prince in his grief, regardless of fact that she had given him a fair piece of her mind on the way home about getting them trapped and causing the entire nation to fall into panic and depression. His desire for the revenge of his mother's death had brought them into that frightful dream world. He had been brainwashed, Kathryn had been imprisoned in that terrible coma-like state like some dumb animal, and Aida had been trapped with a threat of the Warder losing her life to keep her sedated. Terrors always seemed to be exchanged with more terrors.

Closing her eyes, the Warder prayed silently that the days ahead would prove to be less confining. Even the thought of being underground now was sickening.

"_Peter, come on! We'll be late for class!" the beauty with curly black hair called out to wonderfully handsome young man sitting at a table with at least three books open before him in a lounge or foyer of some sort._

"_Coming, Tess," he laughed, walking out onto a lawn surrounded by brick buildings and giving her one of the winning smiles once only shared with a certain Warder whose heart he held in the palm of his hand. "Are we really late? I thought History didn't start for another twenty minutes."_

"_You told me to meet you in your dorm so that we could walk to class together. I don't believe the particular time was discussed. Besides, I want to show you something. I may have found the staircase to an old library or something under the Art building."_

_Shaking his head in amusement at the young woman's adventurous spirit, Peter waited a moment before asking, _

"_Tess, has anyone asked you to the dance next week, yet?"_

_An almost vicious sparkle flashed in the girl's eyes, accompanied by a sneer, as she looked away from the other youth in supposed coyness before the giggly student came back in full force. _

"_No…do you have any suggestions?"_

"_Yes: me."_

"_Peter Pevensie, I thought you'd never ask!"_

_She chuckled femininely when the King of Narnia kissed her forehead as they continued walking. _

In reality – her reality – Kathryn suddenly realized that, with Caspian dead and their adventure concluded, Eustace and Jill were staring at her, of all people, as she looked in a daze across the water with arms folded and eyebrows drawn together…a specter in lavender funeral garments from the dead.

So this was her last test.

She wouldn't lose Peter. She would have her victory…and that little twit would grovel before this contest was over.

Thanks for reading and please review! Again, I'm sorry about this chapter being so darn short.

By the way, my X-Men fanfic, _Someone's Savior, Someone's Sister_, is now up and running. I'll probably be updating it once or twice a week (hopefully). In case you're worried, it won't really affect the progress of this story since it's mostly written already…unlike this one.


	30. Relationships

Thanks ToryTigress92 and princess emma of narnia for your reviews!

I meant to update this earlier, but the internet in my area was down for three days. Grrr.

Just as another quick note, Aida is based partially (and originally) on a wonderful friend of mine, who also happens to be a wonderful aspiring singer with an angel of a personality, though some of the character's appearance and personality was additionally inspired by Faile from The Wheel of Time series. As for Cadal, like Qui-Gon (not Qui-Gon Jinn, for those of you who haven't read that fanfic) from my second Star Wars story, he's basically just the 'ideal' guy. Since there aren't enough of them in the real world, at least they can exist here.

Relationships

Months had passed since Peter met Tess, the girl who so reminded him of Kate's beauty, grace, and strength. They had become incredibly close, so much so that the young man quite neglected his best friend, Carlton, though the other student seemed to mostly understand the attachment…mostly.

On this particular day, Tess had disappeared with her strange friends yet again, leaving Peter to walk to and from class by himself. At this particular point, the High King was aimlessly wandering in the general direction of his dormitory after his last class of the day, wondering when the new girl in his life was going to get back.

Suddenly, as he neared a small patch of trees in the middle of the campus, Peter caught sight of a woman in a flowing dress with long black hair as she disappeared into the clump of giant evergreens. Since no one ever really even looked at the trees and since he had nothing better to do, he risked investigating, following the strangely dressed damsel into the greenery.

Initially, as he broke through the foliage, his eyes seemed to play tricks on him yet again as he almost seemed to see Kathryn standing before him with snow up to her ankles, but then he saw that it was actually a fiery red-headed girl in a green denim skirt and a gray sweater sitting against one of the trees. As the young man tripped through the underbrush, she looked up from her book, the title of which was something along the lines of 'Love and Loyalty'.

"Is there something I can help you with, Peter Pevensie?" the girl demanded, standing smoothly.

"Do I know you?" he queried, getting a little uncomfortable when the strange lady approached, tightly clutching her book.

"That's a good question," she snipped back.

Just as Peter was beginning to wonder why something seemed incredibly familiar about this girl's soft blue eyes, the voice of Tess interrupted him as the woman thrashed past the branches, glaring at and obviously recognizing the unfamiliar personage.

"What are you doing here, Cathy? Shouldn't you be off dreaming up fabulous stories of kings, maidens in distress, and knights in shining armor?"

"Well, I see that you're cooking up your usual conquests. When do you plan on stabbing him the back? Did you think one of us wouldn't find out and come to ruin your plots again?"

"That was a long time ago. Besides, what makes you think this is about you?"

The new girl glanced at the boy between them.

"Let's just call it a special intuition."

"Come on, Peter. There's a new restaurant in town that we need to check out."

"Oh, you mean 'The White Stag'? Yes, good choice. Lovely service!"

"Come on, Peter," Tess growled a little more forcibly, a hint of a strange accent touching her tongue. "Leave us alone…imperialistic witch."

'Cathy' took the opportunity to shoot a final verbal barb as the duo walked away from her.

"Why should I listen to a warning from you, hot-headed devil-worshipper?"

"What was that all about?" Peter demanded a moment later, once the patch of trees was far enough behind them.

Tess, having regained her coyness and composure gave him a rather flirtatious glance, as if to make up for the previous bumbling.

"Cathy and I went to school together. She was fine until a few years ago, when she just sort of lost it. I was her best friend before she started avoiding everyone and getting all sensitive about everything. She's what you would call…'mentally unstable'. I was afraid this might happen. I think she's come here just to torment me."

Though the content of the girl's words were terrible, she seemed perfectly composed about it.

"Aren't you frightened?"

"Of that little floozy? I would be more frightened of a squirrel desperate for its nut."

"Shouldn't we tell someone about this?"

"No!" Her abruptness shocked him to the point of stopping. This behavior was so unlike Tess; instead of happy, carefree, and stable, she was acting as though she were covering something up. If this had been Narnia, he would have presently taken her as a spy, but, since a breach like that had never occurred between the two worlds, he could only assume that Tess was telling the truth, or at least close to it. "No, she may be unstable, but we used to be close and, even now, I couldn't bare the responsibility and guilt of turning her in. I doubt the authorities would even recognize her at this point."

"She seemed collected enough to me."

Barring her teeth in a mysterious smile, the woman condescendingly patted his hand as she linked arms with him.

"That's because you do not know her. You are not an all-knowing king, Peter."

Again, her wording would have normally brought suspicion, but it was once again suppressed. He knew that Tess was a good person, if a bit secretive and vague sometimes. Kate, after all, had told him to be happy.

* * *

For the third time that week, Daisy had snuck out to have little night adventures with Ed in the park. A couple of times previously, they had used the swings in the middle of the maze of paths, trees, and fields, but they mostly just walked and talked about Narnia. As usual, Margaret merely started walking, expecting to run into her fiancé-in-a-strange-way at any time. A rustle in the bushes caused the young woman to stop short.

"Ed? Ed is that you? Don't play games with me. Come on out."

"If you are speaking of King Edmund the Just, Warder Margaret, then you are quite mistaken," a growling voice replied, followed by the appearance of a cloaked Hag.

"What are you doing here?" the Warder demanded. "How did you get out of Narnia?"

"The magic of the Warders has become quite a craze among many. I have come to collect."

"I wouldn't try it, if I were you."

"Come back with me and I might at least try to keep you alive."

"Hardly," the girl grumbled, taking out her yet unused knife. "Maybe I didn't make my question clear enough: how did you get here?"

"Come back into the shrubs and I'll show you, girl."

"…hardly. Go back now or I'll make your trip a whole lot shorter."

As if drawing her along, the Hag slowly backed into the greenery until they reached a small clearing. In the middle that clearing was some sort of…mirror or illusion.

"Why not come with me?"

"She won't be doing that," Edmund snarled, suddenly appearing beside the woman.

"I won't leave without my prize."

"Think again."

With surprising ease, the two teenagers shoved the witch through the anomaly before it promptly disappeared.

"Well," the girl commented, "that wasn't so bad."

"I think we make a rather good team, Warder Margaret," the boy said, offering his hand.

"I quite agree, Your Majesty."

* * *

Walking through the town toward the Narnian king's castle was a man: a man looking slightly out of place among the renaissance-styled locals in his brown trousers and dark green cardigan. Understandably, he received quite a few puzzled and suspicious looks from the villagers, but he managed to pass through their midst and into the town center, a large square with a great stone fountain in the middle, without any opposition (there was no reason for him to be stopped since he was clearly unarmed, though his fierce golden eyes nearly changed the minds of the day sentries).

Having reached the edge of the courtyard, the stranger leaned against a building to watch the woman in a gray riding skirt and matching button-up jacket as she absentmindedly dipped her fingers into the water. With her bold nose, long eyelashes, wild dusty-brown hair, graceful figure, and with the sun hitting her tanned skin, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Of course, he already knew that. Ever since the first moment he saw her during the first days of serving the now-dead King Caspian X, he admired her more than anyone else besides Aslan.

_Having recently given part of his loyalty to Prince Caspian, the new hope for the Old Narnians' liberation, Cadal, in Eagle form, had volunteered to scout the area around the moving group led by the young Telmarine and was momentarily resting in a treetop. Though, in his Human state, the Narnian looked to be perhaps around twenty-four years of age, he was in fact around fifty, his first memories being those of Aslan awakening him in His great Country and transporting him to Narnia to find 'an equal and a nation in need'. The 'nation in need' was quite obvious, but he had no idea what 'equal' meant._

_As the solitary Bird scanned the lifeless forest with his keen eyes and contemplated what terrors must have occurred to cause the Trees to hide so deep within themselves, he discovered another bird-of-prey not too far away on another tree. This particular avian was different than the others, however, as it stared straight at him with unusual curiosity, causing Cadal to cock his head in wonder. Even the smartest of birds didn't show such…intelligence as this falcon did._

_Suddenly, a thought dawned on him: maybe it was a spy of the enemy, or even perhaps a sign of the called-for help arriving. Unsure of either possibility, Cadal decided not to take any chances. Screeching as he left his roost, the Eagle flew off into the sunset, looking back to make sure he wasn't followed._

_Despite his precautions, he couldn't help but consider how the suspicious falcon held such regal beauty with her fine, soft-textured brownish, speckled feathers. That bird held wisdom and bravery equal to any warrior; he was certain of it._

"Cadal?" Coming out of his ruminating state, the man realized that the damsel had noticed his presence. "Cadal, it's really you! You finally came back!"

Embracing Aida as she ran to him, the Eagle's bliss suddenly took a negative turn.

"I can't stay for long. I'm sorry, but things aren't quite finished with the High King. I came because I wanted to make sure that it was the Warder Katarina that has been lurking around lately."

Her countenance darkened slightly and she took a step back.

"Yes, she left for Earth a few months ago, babbling on about some test. You know how her tactics can be." Aida paused, with irritable hesitance lacing her voice a few seconds later. "Is that the only reason you came?"

"Officially, yes…but I always want to see you, my lovely Falcon. In fact, I brought something for you from Earth…" With that, he pulled a pair of thick woolen stockings from his pocket and offered them to her. "I know it's not exactly unique, but I haven't exactly had time to knit and I know how cold your feet can be after you've transformed back into a human in the Winter."

"And I will cherish them," the woman confirmed. "But do you think that this business with the High King can be settled soon?"

"If and when Katarina succeeds with her project, I'll likely return shortly after her. Why such concern for my being away?"

The girl went rigid and looked away. Supposedly, her time with the Pevensies on Earth had loosened her up a bit, but she still wasn't one to enjoy showing too much emotion.

"I…I…" Angrily, Aida looked back at him. "All right, I admit it: I missed you. Happy?"

"With making you upset, no. I must admit, however, that I was wondering if all that flirtation on the _Dawn Treader_ was all some fantasy of mine; so, yes, in a way, I am happy to hear that. I missed you as well. The female students at that university are…unbearable."

With tight lips that couldn't resist smirking, the other Bird unnecessarily straightened his shirt.

"Good. I hope it stays that way. What is it like there?"

Strange question.

"Aida, I can't stay for long. I much as I want to stay, every second matters and I don't want Peter going off the deep end."

The woman ignored the comment.

"Now don't make me beg for an answer; how are you doing?"

"Fine. You?" he sighed, playing along for a moment, though the other Bird wasn't even close to satisfied.

"Really? All this world-jumping isn't having any…adverse effects? I actually felt a little woozy the single time I did it."

Just then, Cadal realized what the reason for all the questioning; she had done this once before to keep him from leaving until she heard what she wanted to hear. It was one of her many…talents as the strong, stubborn, feisty, beautiful, lovable, kind lady she was.

"All right! I get it! Yes, I love you."

Once more she straightened his shirt, she smiled slightly.

"That's better." Then, she grabbed a fistful of the cardigan with a sudden sad fire in her eyes. "Come back in one piece, Cadal. There are rumors of witches and legend hunters somehow slipping into Earth. Until Kathryn and I find out how to stop it when she returns, be extra careful. Those from this world can see through the disguises we take on to remain hidden. Anyone from this world who has seen your face will know that, like them, you don't belong there."

"How can I not be careful with someone like you waiting for me?"

"Easily."

Taking her clenched hand in his, Cadal brought it to his lips, never breaking eye contact with the angelic fighter.

"Maybe I could stay a few minutes more for a little walk."

* * *

The day of the university ball at the end of the school year arrived without much incident. Tess had disappeared yet again, to Peter's automatic, growing suspicion, leaving him once more wandering back to his dormitory by himself to change for the second dance to which he was escorting his new interest. Long ago had he reconciled the fact that he was doing nothing wrong. He purposefully avoided passing too near the clump of trees where he had previously met that odd 'Cathy' character and instead took a route a little closer to several of the university buildings.

Nearly to his destination, a faint glitter caught the young man's eye as he passed by a bench, which he discovered to be a small silver ring with an inset emerald, instantly recognizing it as the one possessed by the faithful Warder. If she had left the ring there, then she was here somewhere and… Desperately, Peter turned around, hoping to find the owner of the piece of jewelry. He was met by a pair of unmistakable blue eyes and he instantly cradled the lady's face in his hands to kiss her…until he identified the girl as not being Kathryn, but rather Cathy.

"Sorry," he spluttered, pocketing the ring in his jacket and quickly stepping away. "I, uh…you…reminded me of…someone. I don't know what got into me."

Still standing unmovable, the redhead smiled with strange knowingness.

"Maybe your heart recognized what your eyes could not. Are you really that blind to not see what's right in front of you?"

Maybe the girl was crazy.

"I, uh, have to go."

* * *

Escaping the school grounds after the last class of the year, Susan Pevensie wandered along the sidewalks for quite some time, enjoying the scent of Spring that seeped through the smells of the city. That scent seemed to stir something in her, but she couldn't point it out. With her respite of the trip to America the last Summer, the teenage girl had been able to clear her head of all of the childish nonsense of that silly magical world her siblings still insisted on joking around about. In her eyes now, it was pathetic to see a university student and three normally mature students acting so…babyish.

Reaching the magazine stand near the local train station, the one she and her companions would be using the next morning, Su stopped to examine an article about the possible reasons for children to fantasize about invisible friends and even whole worlds that didn't exist but in their imagination…rather fitting.

After a few moments, she was joined by another person.

"Fancy seeing you here, 'Phyllis'," he said, causing the lady to look up. It was the exact same nerdy boy from the last year who had tried catching her interest.

"Oh, hello," she coldly replied, trying the previously failed tactic from before.

"I'm sorry if I scare you."

The girl's gaze shot up in disbelief.

"You do not scare me…whatever your name is."

"It's Robert."

Again she looked at him in shock. He _definitely_ did not look like a 'Robert'.

"Oh…"

"I…I was wondering if…if you would like to…have dinner with me. I still have some money that my mum gave me at Christmas."

Then again, he did have kind eyes.

"My real name is Susan, in case you didn't catch it before."

"It's nice to meet you, Susan. Might I say that your hair looks lovely today."

Maybe she could teach him exactly how to act around girls. Maybe she would fall for him eventually, but, momentarily, he would be a nice project of sorts.

* * *

Lucy dejectedly stepped through the school gate and onto the street. Since she had finally ended her conversation with Miss Kingsal, the Literature teacher, (she couldn't exactly have simply walked away from the chatty professor; it would have been rude) Susan had disappeared. And, according to the nice man who guarded the school entrance from people who weren't supposed to be there, her big sister had left without her with her own agenda of wandering…and they were supposed to be getting train tickets for the next day!

"Are you all right?" a cute, tall boy about Lucy's age asked as he was passing on the sidewalk. From his uniform, it looked like he went to the boy's boarding school nearby.

"I suppose," she replied dejectedly. "My sister was supposed to go with me to get train tickets, but she left and now I don't know what to do."

"I was just heading there myself for the same reason. If you like, I can walk with you." Seeing the guard familiarly wave to the boy and feeling utterly relieved that she wouldn't have to brave walking the city streets by herself, the girl happily accepted. In Narnia, she wouldn't have bothered with such things, as there were the Trees and other creatures keeping an eye out for danger, but it was different here. "Why did your sister leave you?"

"She's too concerned about attracting boys, makeup, clothes, and being 'grown-up' to care about me much any more."

"How beastly!"

"She used to be so nice, but then…things happened." The memories of Susan running away from anything to do with Narnia after learning that she couldn't go back rather darkened the cheerful girl's mood, but she didn't want to ruin it for her new friend. "I'm Lucy, by the way."

"Charlie."

"Very nice to meet you. Do you like lions?"

* * *

With the strange encounter from the afternoon still haunting him, Peter walked toward his evening companion's home in a room above a restaurant directly adjacent to the campus just as the sun began disappearing below the horizon.

As he crossed the street and was about to enter the building, he stopped short, finding his partner stiffly and gruffly walking down the street towards him already dressed in her forest green, floor-length dress for the evening, again bringing those nagging suspicions to the forefront. Why did Tess always go disappearing and reappearing at the oddest of times?

Even as she got closer, the girl muttered to herself,

"So much time. Why? Can't it be stopped? They're all dead and gone, but I have a mission to accomplish. But they said that _she_ had disappeared from the court…probably here. I should be more careful."

The young woman didn't even notice her waiting escort in her fuming until she was nearly upon him, at which point her face completely changed to that of her 'normal' bliss. But was that dust on the fringes of her dress?

"Tess, are you all right?" Peter offered warily, nevertheless presenting his arm to the lady as they re-crossed the street and reentered the university grounds.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. Just, um…"

"Some old friends?"

"Yes, exactly," she confirmed glancing around at the darkening benches, bushes, and buildings with growing unease.

"Are you sure? You seem rather…edgy."

With no one in sight, she threw one of her enchanting smiles, though her eyes held fiery anger.

"Why do you ask? I was only taking care of some things. My friends tend to divulge some rather…frustrating stories."

"Then why visit them at all if they aggravate you so?"

"I…"

The woman gritted her teeth, her composure slipping. That was when another person joined them, coming out of the path between two nearby buildings.

"Having problems, Tessarina?" Cathy mocked, leaning against the corner of one building with a small dagger in her hand. Peter automatically protectively moved Tess back, though she didn't seem frightened in the least, ignoring his presence. Instead, she was smiling with frightening pleasure at the weapon. "Did you really think that corrupting him before killing him would give any more satisfaction to your revenge thing?"

"I had no intention of killing him."

"Killing him and taking him back for a pointless slaughter…not much of a difference in my eye."

"The only way for my Taarkan to redeem himself of his sins is for the two Warders to be sacrificed on Tash's altar. Tash has spoken and he will be obeyed. He left several magic stones for us to reach this world so we could fulfill our mission. As you see, it has nothing to do with your precious High King."

Even as the suddenly strange girl spoke, her accent changed to the thick drawl of Calormen, while Cathy seem to transform right before their eyes, as if shedding a skin. After mere seconds, a dumbfounded Peter realized that he was standing protectively in front of an apparent Calormene spy, with none other than the Warder Kathryn before him in a midnight blue dress with long sleeves that split to reveal unnaturally pale arms.

It reminded him of Aslan's words shortly after the coronation of Caspian: _"You may see her when you least expect her."_

"Then why involve him at all?" Kate shot back in her cooing voice, still ignoring the stunned High King. "If you were after me, why go through all this trouble? I know it's part of your nature as a 'special' servant of Tash to go a little overboard, but this is a little much, even for you."

"I thought I'd gain my revenge against you while I was at it. It has been quite gratifying. I can see why you fell for this two-timer."

"Now, wait just a minute," Peter interrupted, but a glance at Kate's twirling dagger silenced him. Obviously, she wasn't too happy with him.

"I don't really recall anything that would provoke you like that," the Warder countered, followed by a quick retort from the spy.

"Soon after your precious King Caspian began his reign, you came to my land with an offer of reestablishing trade between my people and the Narnians. Do you recall one particularly dark night outside the palace? Do you recall the blood on your hands? You killed my only brother, a great warrior and a loyal man!"

"I was attacked, unprovoked, and I simply defended myself."

"By decapitation?" the riled-up woman demanded.

"Your brother was sent by one of your great leaders to kill me to avoid trading with Narnia again. When he came to plunge his dagger in my back, his head happened to be just the right height."

Suddenly, Peter found a dagger at his throat. He silently cursed his unpreparedness.

"Come with me now, Katarina, and your precious King _might_ live."

The Warder briefly made eye contact with her monarch.

"I think I'll pass. I would think that you would have learned long ago to not underestimate people."

Now, all he had to do was wait for Tess to make her move so he could disarm the woman.

Tessarina screamed with rage as Peter finally ripped the dagger from her hand, after what seemed like hours of the endless staring contest between the women, and threw her to the ground. With both Narnians now hovering over her and ready to attack if provoked, the Calormene witch remained where she was. Peter, on his part, was disgusted that he actually fallen for the ruse set up by the infiltrator, so he was particularly watchful to make sure that the captive didn't do anything rash.

"What should we do with her?" he questioned, ignoring the nagging attachment he still had to Tess. His only reply was Kate stepping threateningly towards the defeated Calormene, brandishing her dagger. "We can't kill her! Where are your ethics?"

The Warder looked back at him coldly before finally slipping the knife into the sleeve.

"There's a fine between ethics and survival, Majesty. But I suppose you're right, though; it would make too much of a mess and I doubt that hiding a body is as easy as it once was." With her fingers twitching in anticipation to reach for one of the many knives that were probably hidden around her person, Kathryn finally addressed Tessarina. "This stone that transports you to and from Earth…where is it?"

"I have it here," the other female replied, her hand shaking ever so slightly as she reached inside a hidden pocket in her dress and brought out a small leather bag, offering it to the huntress. "There's nothing for me in that world. Many years have passed since I was sent. "The Taarkan was killed by a wild animal during one of his hunting trips about ten years ago in Calormen time, my fellow warriors were defeated by the Warder Margaret when they attempted to capture her and their ship disappeared during their return voyage from Narnia to the homeland, and the only remaining holy man who gave most of our orders is a crotchety old cripple with nothing but bad news for me every time I return. My mission has failed and all that's left for me is to die in disgrace, though only I may know of it."

"Use your stone and destroy when you get back. You can find solace in the counsel of a man on an island on the route to the end of the world. You will recognize it by the strange and idiotic natives who get around by hopping and you won't even have to leave your ship to see them. The man I speak of will still be there for many years to come as he is a Star beyond his prime. He knows what it is to fail and be condemned in his greatest task and he knows the lessons of salvation. I think you will get along quite well; he also has an interest in magic."

Following a moment of uncertainty, Tess finally slipped the little rock out of its packaging and instantly disappeared.

"You actually let her go?" Peter asked in shock.

"Everyone deserves a second chance; even the most unworthy," muttered the Warder contemplatively, suddenly starting to walk back to her place of appearance between the structures.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to Narnia, of course. The crisis is over and I am…not quite recovered."

Sympathy showed in the King's eyes as he approached his ageless beloved.

"Eustace told me about that Witch imprisoning you. I'm only sorry that I wasn't there to help you."

Her jaw tensed in anger.

"You can help me by not getting into any more trouble and falling for the first damsel that looks a little like me. My job description is not supposed to include this world. That is Margaret's priority."

"Don't leave!" the boy insisted as a professor in his nearby office started playing a record.

"I must. Every second more than I spend here is out of my control. From what I can tell, I only wasted a year in Narnia (and that was what I planned), but I can't wait any longer. They need me."

The Magnificent King was once more going to retort, but the serious, haunted look written all over Kate's demeanor made him change his mind. Instead, he glanced at the window from which the music was emanating.

"Can you stay for one dance?" After one horrible moment, Kathryn silently complied, refusing to look in his eyes. "Kate?" The address forced her to make eye contact, like a frightened rabbit. "I'm sorry."

A broken gasp shattered her mask.

"I'll see you soon. I promise!"

With the tears flowing freely, the Warder, without reserve, crashed her weight into him and their lips collided. As Rudy Vallee's 'As Time Goes By' continued playing, they just stood there, wishing that the moment could last forever.


	31. The Knowing Ones

Thanks Calyn, princess emma of narnia, and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!

So sorry for the terrible delay! My life has been complete chaos lately. :P This chapter, unlike the next one, doesn't really have any action, but it's still pretty important. Enjoy!

The Knowing Ones

Twenty-three-year-old Margaret Benten walked toward the train station from the small-town café where she worked with a light heart, being on her way to meet some very old friends.

Daisy, being the bright girl that she was, had attended the same university as Peter Pevensie after she finished with the boarding school; however, before she could get a degree of any kind, the girl had dropped out, having gained almost a disgust for inventing, her prime talent, ever since it nearly destroyed her life. Since then, she split her time between living with her grandmother, Polly Plummer, in Sutton and Professor Digory Kirke in Longfield, working as a waitress in both local areas.

Though people who didn't know her as well (those who weren't Friends of Narnia) often complained that she was wasting her talents by not pursuing a higher education, her closest companions understood and she, frankly, couldn't have been more content. Little did most people know that she spent quite a few hours of her time dealing with strangers who had slipped through onto Earth from another world, sometimes causing her to return home with a nasty cut or black eye. Despite the unusual lifestyle of fighting Hags, Witches, Werewolves, Dwarves, and nasty dark Men, she was happy…especially as of a month previously.

"Margie!" The young woman jerked her head towards the call, surprised that she hadn't noticed the approach of the train as she sat on the aged bench. She rose as the final guests for the next few days walked towards her, hauling their bags along. "Daydreaming again, are we?" Edmund Pevensie, now a dashing, strong young man of twenty, laughed, giving her a warm hug while still holding his bag.

As Margaret hadn't seen her childhood companions very often during the past few years, with the exception of Ed, she understandably gasped upon seeing the other new arrivals. Eustace and Polly were both in their late teens, finally escaping their awkward years, and turning into a rather fine duo. The Warder found it incredibly hard not to try playing matchmaker with the two friends, as neither of them would have it.

Peter, like his siblings, was looking more and more like the monarch who had left Narnia in the Golden Age. It was too bad that Kate hadn't seen him since his university days; with his dark gold hair, heavenly blue eyes, and utterly kingly features, he truly looked the part of the dashing warrior. Edmund was the very embodiment of the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. In Margaret's eyes, no other man was more generous, gentle, and honorable; he treated her as though she was the one of royalty and he was her humble servant. Lucy had turned into a lovely young lady with long dark hair and fine features who was above all in grace and kindness; unlike her older sister, romance was the last thing on her mind.

"Lucy! How you've grown!"

"You saw me last year!" the younger girl protested.

"Yeah, but I mean…you just…look older…in a good way."

"Oh, no, you're not going to back your way out of that one," Lucy teased with a giggle, going to embrace her old friend.

Having separately greeted all of the travelers and as she was hugging Peter, a familiar face in a window of the train caught the Warder's eye.

"You guys go ahead to the house. I want to check something."

"We didn't leave anything behind."

"Do you need help?" Ed added.

"No," Margaret replied. "Go. I'll meet you there in about fifteen minutes."

The group hesitated, but finally began walking into the town. As soon as they were far enough away, Daisy casually but cautiously boarded the halted train and moved through the tiny hall until she reached one of the traveling compartments in the back.

Ready to react at any second, she opened the sliding door and discovered a dark-featured, well-dressed man sitting casually on the cushioned seat with a large weasel wrapped around his shoulders. Both stared at the newcomer with big dark eyes. These travelers, however, were not the normal wayfarers. The girl had long ago discovered that those from the Narnian world had a certain…feel about them that distinguished them from the normal Earth population.

"It is an honor to meet you once again, Warder Margaret," he said with a distinctly Calormene accent, "though, sadly, our previous meeting was less than congenial."

Margie narrowed her eyes even as a boarding passenger went by behind her and pointed a pocket gun, her last mechanical project, at the stranger.

"What are you doing here? Who are you? And how do you know me?" she interrogated, receiving only a smirk as the giant coolly studied her weapon.

"You're a warrior of legend, a genius on your world, a scientist on the side, and, apparently, you're a pretty fair mechanic."

"You _are_ familiar, but I can't point it out."

The big man laughed.

"A Tarkaan in Calormen ordered several of us to bring you back for sacrifice to Tash. You might remember the city called New York, though much has happened for you since."

"You were one of the men who attacked me in that alley!" she gasped.

"Well…yes, but you probably don't recall me specifically since I was hanging back a bit. You were probably occupied. Anyway, after we returned and the gang broke up, I decided to use my magic stone one more time and came back to this world."

"And…what's with the weasel?"

"What's with the weasel?" the perched creature cried, bobbing its head at the now-apparent insult. "What's with the weasel, she says! I'll have you know that this here's a more-than-deserved retirement. You try bein' kidnapped and forced to spy on a legend with your own 'ide at stake! 'What's with the weasel'!"

"Sorry," the woman stammered, shocked at the revelation. "My apologies for the assumption…but Weasels _were_ always more for saving their own hide rather than others'."

"I take offense to that! Do you wish to duel?"

"Settle down, my fine-furred friend," the Calormen chided, laughing boisterously. "I beg your mercy, Lady, but Burrowbevel has been touchy about that subject for years. You see, after he spied on you like he was told by our witch of a leader, we were ordered to kill him when we reached New York. The second-in-command told me to take care of it, so I was able to hide him until it was over and we could escape. If I returned to Calormen, I would be considered a traitor."

"I see," the girl said. "Why show yourself to me now?"

He got a bit of a secretive look then.

"Just wanted to show you the fruits of your labor before I lost the chance."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing in particular. You should go join your friends. The train's just about to leave."

Questions were buzzing in Margaret's mind as she stepped from the train just before it moved on. Why did that man approach her? Why now?

* * *

Nine years…nine years had passed since the Pevensies and Bentens had first wandered into Narnia. In some ways, it seemed like just yesterday that they had been a bunch of silly children stumbling through a wardrobe; in other ways, it seemed centuries since they had left that wondrous world…for some, it _had_ been centuries. The thought always struck a painful chord with the twenty-four-year-old that the woman he loved had been in Narnia for thousands of years since the Golden Age. If she had returned with the rest of the children all those years ago, she would have been about twenty-one at this point.

It saddened the High King to think of Kathryn being so alone, fighting anger, resentment, and loneliness as the years passed and practically everyone else aged and died, while she remained untouched by time. The fact remained, however, that, whatever Kate wished at one point or another, her heart chose to stay in Narnia; she no longer belonged on Earth and, deep down, neither did she desire to return. Even during the brief time he had seen her at the university, he had seen her disgust with the city, the cars, the noise, the machinery. No matter what fleeting desires she had, she loved Narnia more than she could ever love Earth, unlike Daisy and the Pevensies, who still belonged in England.

Over the past few years, Peter had overall come to terms with his pining romance with the Warder of Narnia, though it was a fight to not be jealous of Ed and his blooming relationship with Margaret Benten.

"What's wrong, Peter?" Lucy asked as she looked down at him upon entering the kitchen from her unpacking, being able to do so now that she reached the young man's shoulder. Pursing her lips, the lady joined him at the table after pouring herself a cup of tea. "Never mind. I know what's troubling you. Where's Edmund?"

The High King shifted slightly.

"He insisted on checking in at the inn himself before going to look for Margaret."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"Not as far as I know. We only got here about ten minutes ago." Suddenly, he set his drink down in realization and moved toward the back door. "I forgot the Professor asked me to fetch some wood from the back yard before he went to pick up a few things."

* * *

King Tirian, a man between the ages of twenty and twenty-five with broad shoulders, fine muscles, blue eyes, and a fearless, honest face, sat under a great oak tree that grew near his little hunting lodge near the Eastern end of the Lantern Waste in which he stayed for ten days or so in the warm spring weather. The peace and simplicity which so contrasted the pomp and grandeur of the long rebuilt Cair Paravel drew him to this place…and he loved every minute of it.

No one was with him that fine spring morning except his two dearest friends: Jewel the Unicorn, who stood beside the King's chair with his neck bent round polishing his blue horn against the creamy whiteness of his flank, and Warder Katarina, who was laying against the massive tree, enjoying the warmth of the sun that slipped through the branches with her glossy, long black hair, sky-blue eyes, and simple, ankle-length dress of lavender cotton with a band of blue fabric around her waist.

"I cannot set myself to any work or sport today, Jewel," said Tirian as he lounged, not bothering to address the woman as her eyes were closed and she had been generally ignoring her companions since she had volunteered to serve the King wine and they had all then seated themselves. "I can think of nothing but this wonderful news. Think you we shall hear more of it today?"

Glancing at the less-than-enthused Warder, the Unicorn replied,

"They are the most wonderful tidings ever heard in our days or our fathers' or our grandfathers' days, Sire…" Again, he peered at Katarina. "…if they are true."

But the King's blissful mood was not going to be spoiled by his adviser/bodyguard's unspoken opinion.

"How can they choose but be true? It is more than a week ago that the first birds came flying over us saying, Aslan is here, Aslan has come to Narnia again. And after that it was the squirrels. They had not seen him, but they said it was certain he was in the woods. Then came the Stag. He said he had seen him with his own eyes, a great way off, by moonlight, in the Lantern Waste. Then came that dark Man with the beard, the merchant from Calormen. The Calormenes care nothing for Aslan as we do; but the man spoke of it as a thing beyond doubt. And there was the Badger last night; he too had seen Aslan."

"Indeed, Sire, I believe it all. If I seem not to, it is only that my joy is too great to let my belief settle itself. It is almost too beautiful to believe."

"Yes," said Tirian with a shivery sigh, overcome with his delight. "It is beyond all that I ever hoped for in all my life."

In a split second, the mysterious, dark-haired beauty had flown up from her resting place and was crouching before the King, gazing into his eyes with those intense pools of icy water. Anger, sadness, disappointment, confusion, and wisdom were reflected in those timeless eyes; however, the most prominent emotion there was something Tirian had only seen two or three times in his lifetime: Fear…unrestricted and absolute Fear.

"It is too beautiful to believe because it _is_ too beautiful to be believed. And it is beyond all hopes is because it _is_ beyond hope. I have not seen Aslan in _centuries_, Tirian."

"That doesn't mean anything," he shot back without thinking, breaking eye contact.

"Oh? Doesn't it, now?" With a tense jaw, she stood, unable to contain her edgy mood to one spot. "If He was here, Aslan would let me know, of all people. I always know when He's here. And what makes you think that a Calormene can be trusted? You know very well how they'll use absolutely anything to their advantage, even something like this."

"How would you know?" the King challenged, standing as well. Jewel merely stood by watching with half-concerned boredom. He had seen the young man and his permanent guardian get into more than one tiff, despite their inseparable bond. "How would you know if you missed two, three, four, or even a dozen times Aslan came to Narnia? You didn't even know when the High King came back during the time of Caspian X!"

Katarina gasped at the verbal blow before snapping her mouth shut and tightening her lips into a fine line…that is, until she swiftly turned around to avoid sneezing in the monarch's face. He had forgotten about the slight cold that had been plaguing her for the past four days.

"One thing that none of the other Narnian rulers have possessed," she began, lightly sniffling with her back still turned, "…you're always able to hit my weakest spot." When the lady swiveled back around, her eyes shone a little more than usual due to unshed tears. "You know very well that I always regretted not doing what I could to be more involved in King Peter's life. You know that I hate myself for that, that it's an everyday uphill battle."

In the heat of argument, neither human caught what Jewel said.

"What?"

"Hooves," the Unicorn repeated.

* * *

"Dais."

"Oh…hi, Ed. I, uh, didn't hear you coming."

"Not surprising," the young man jested, sitting down next to Margaret on the train station bench where he had discovered her. "You seemed rather deep in thought. Anything I can help with?"

The brunette shifted so that she was leaning against the boy's shoulder.

"Yes and no… There was a passenger on the train who turned out to be one of the group of Calormenes who tried snatching me up just before our little adventure on the Dawn Treader." Ed quickly turned his head to look at her at that. "Apparently, he's turned his life around and is living here, on Earth. But that's not what confuses me. He said that he wanted to show me fruits of my labor before he 'lost the chance'."

"Do you think he means the end of Narnia?"

"I think so…but, if that's the case, I just feel…as though I had it easy. I mean…I got everything I ever wanted: you, a comfortable life, and some occasional adventure, thanks to the Narnians and everybody else dropping in where they're not supposed to. Kathryn has been…tortured. She's watched all of her friends die of old age while she drags on, watching the full effects of her victories and failures through the centuries."

Getting comfortable for a guilt debate by putting his arm around the Warder's shoulders, the Just King, without raising his voice, argued,

"Remember how upset you were after half-failing the first test and after I pushed you away?"

"More like completely failed," she grumbled, "but of course I remember."

"Well…that certainly wasn't the best time of your life. And remember how miserable you were after that 'greed' test, with the whole incident of the Americans wanting to produce all of your inventions? You could have had all of the wealth and fame you ever imagined, but you were miserable and, after realizing that, you didn't hesitate to throw the temptation back in the tempters' faces."

"But that was only because I was given a nice shove to knock me back into reality."

The monarch sighed in annoyance.

"The _point_ is that I know your life is definitely no bed of roses. If it is true that the end of Narnia is coming, your career as Warder of Narnia was assuredly not easy. It was full of guilt and hardship, in the way of mental torment if not the more immediate daily trials of your cousin. Now, can we forget this pointless self-judgment and go make sure that the Professor got back from the grocery in one piece?"

"Oh, bloody badgers!" the woman cried, leaping up instantly. "I was supposed to do that for him! Come on! No more sulking."


	32. Trepidation

Thanks princess emma of narnia and ToryTigress92 for your reviews!

By the way, ToryTigress92 made a beautiful trailer for this story on YouTube, titled 'Forever Yours'. I would definitely suggest watching it. :)

My sincerest apologies for not updating for so long! Having to reference to the book, school, music, and, yes, work have very much gotten in the way of progress with my fanfiction life, which, a good chunk of the time, is oh-so-much more enthralling for me than reality…yes, author with her head in the clouds. Haha. I mean, come on! Where are the knights? *clears throat* What can I say? I was born in the wrong century. Anyway, here's a nice, long chapter to make up for how horribly sluggish I have been lately.

Trepidation

The Eight Friends of Narnia were all collected at Professor Digory Kirke's residence, including Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, Margaret Benten, Polly Plummer, and the Professor himself. While most everyone was out in the living room, Lucy and Daisy were in the tiny kitchen preparing the scrumptious-smelling supper, while Ed sat in the corner drinking a mug of tea, ready to leap up if one of his companions needed help.

"Oh!" Margie squeaked, rushing to open the oven and barely managing not to burn herself on the large pan with a juicy roast as she took it out and quickly slipped onto the available counter space; the torturously delicious scent of the steaming meat wafted out from the little area, filling the room with succulent temptation. "Whew! I saved it!" she concluded, causing the elegantly sweet Lucy to laugh at her frazzled friend as she continued shredding the vibrant lettuce into a crisp, fresh salad.

"You should take a break, Dais. You sound like you're about to explode."

"I'm. Perfectly. Fine."

"You have to admit: you are meant to fight bad guys, not cook."

"Haha; I can hardly contain my laughter, Lu. No; you can't do this all by yourself!"

"Ed can help."

The squabble was promptly cut short as Jill burst in, saying,

"Cadal is here."

"What? Here? How?" the Warder demanded, not waiting for an answer and just storming out with Jill on her heels.

"Well, that solves that problem," the young man jested, followed by a comment from his suddenly serious sister.

"What do you suppose is wrong with her? I have never been a fan of her cooking, but she seems extra edgy today."

"I think we all know what she's feeling. There's just some sort of…strain in the air. I think it has something to do with Narnia."

"Oh, I do hope it's nothing bad," the girl lamented.

* * *

Pitiful. Absolutely pitiful. When she had chosen to try writing an 'autobiography' like the ones she had read on Earth, she hadn't expected this. On Earth it was easy to write: you just walked into a shop and bought a fountain pen. In Narnia, however, it was a completely different story. One had to get the quill and ink and pray that your clothes weren't dyed black by the time you decided to give up writing. Aida had been at this attempted task for a good week now, trying to distract herself from the terrible restlessness she had been feeling…the air was just full of tension. Unfortunately, it was only aggravating her all the more.

During the two hundred years since the rescue of 'Rillian the Gallant Fool', as the bird-woman and the Warder Kathryn secretly called him, Aida had gone into somewhat of a retirement. Yes, she assisted Kathryn and everyone else when they needed help, but she generally just took life each day as it came, though, now, things were definitely picking up.

Over the past several days or so, there had been rumors of Aslan returning, whispers of Calormenes prowling Narnian borders, and, in her daily flights, the Falcon thought she had caught sight of ships in the distance, though it was probably just her eyes playing tricks. Everything over the past two centuries had become muddled. Many of the Narnians were practically just lost children with no sense of patriotism and faith; still more had completely forgotten about their Creator and considered the stories about Aslan, Warders, ancient Birds, legendary Kings and Queens, and occasional rescuers from another world to be rubbish, regardless of the continuous presence of Kathryn and Aida. Things were just out of sorts.

Admittedly, she could have run off to Earth to be with Cadal at any point, but she wasn't that soft, no matter how she felt for that marvelous Eagle. For the past few years, she had just felt…numb. Part of her knew that time in Narnia was winding down to an eventual halt and she couldn't do anything to stop it. Oh, well. Momentarily, there weren't really any rebellions or attacks, other than whatever creep that was claiming to be Aslan wandering around the forests.

The wild-haired woman was just about to go onto writing about how the Warder Kathryn rescued her from being trapped on the tree at the very end of the hundred-year Winter when she was suddenly interrupted by the clattering appearance of a Faun soldier in the library doorway.

"Ma'am," he panted with wide eyes, "ships coming…dozens…maybe even hundreds…flying the flag of Calormen!"

"What? That's impossible!" Aida retorted standing so abruptly that she bumped the table and resulted in spilling the ink all over her manuscript; however, her thoughts were no longer on writing frivolous details of the past. "But we were at peace with the Calormenes We didn't do anything to provoke them. There must be some mistake."

"I doubt it, Ma'am," the untested warrior replied, regaining his composure as Aida drew herself up in preparation of whatever was coming. "Farsight the Eagle flew over the armada and spotted many, many soldiers onboard before they started shooting at him. It's an invasion, Ma'am."

"It's the Telmarines all over again," muttered the remaining leader, "but, this time, I'm here to watch Cair Paravel crumble while Kathryn is none the wiser. I'm almost glad she doesn't know." Then, she raised her voice, commanding, "Raise the troops; place archers on the lowest balcony facing the ocean; start evacuating all townsfolk unable to fight and begin arming those who can. Where is Farsight now?"

"He…he is in the courtyard, waiting for orders."

"Perfect; I can organize from there. Well, don't just stand there. Get General Roonwit and tell him to take care of the archers and meet me in the courtyard. We have a siege to survive."

"But General Roonwit left some time ago to warn the King of the rumored Aslan."

"Then get his lieutenant. Isn't he visiting his family today outside the castle? It should only take about an hour to assemble everyone."

"But…but, Ma'am!" the Faun once more stammered.

"What is it?"

"Th…they…" The poor thing seemed about to pass out. "They…the Calormenes will b…be here within _minutes_, not hours…maybe half an hour, at most."

The statement seemed to knock the breath out of the bird-woman.

"Wh…what?"

* * *

"Hey! Water-Rat! What are you about?"

"Taking logs down to sell to the Calormenes, Sire," said the little creature as his raft floated past, carrying its load of fine, newly cut splendid Narnian trunks.

"Calormenes! What do you mean? Who gave order for these trees to be felled?"

"The Lion's orders, Sire. Aslan Himself."

Those last words fell on Kathryn as if a Giant had just hit her with one of the floating logs. As Tirian and Jewel steamed about the horrifying revelation, plotting to fall upon the Calormene offenders and halt their offensive chopping, she stared dumbly after the raft, unable to think clearly enough to catch the idiocy of her companions' plan.

"Jewel, what lies before us?" the King worried. "Horrible thoughts arise in my heart. If we had died before today we should have been happy."

"Yes," responded the Unicorn. "We have lived too long." Kate laughed at that. "The worst thing in the world has come upon us."

After a moment, Tirian looked to the Warder.

"Katarina? Are you with us?"

A sad, bitter look came across her face as she replied.

"I have been waiting for my day to finally strike back at the Calormenes. Apparently, this is it." She didn't really mean that nasty comment, despite her past confrontations with those people, namely the case of Tessarina trying to steal Peter from her. It was merely her wrath against the Calormenes for destroying part of Narnia's beauty. A thousand years had made her part of the land; when someone hurt her country, she took it personally. The others knew this as well, though they didn't voice it.

It didn't take long for the trio to reach the terrible site and be struck by the vision of the hideous lane of stumps through the once beautiful forest of silver and gold where the legendary Tree of Protection (which had initially kept the White Witch at bay) had grown in the fading past, harnessed horses being driven by whip-wielding Men to drag the fallen trees, and, shockingly, a majority of Calormenes among the number of laborers. The horrid sight caused both human Narnians to pale significantly; however, the next revelation called for action: the horses were Talking Horses.

An instant later, the three Calormene taskmasters who had been flogging the nearest noble steed were dead, one each being killed by the vengeful King and his companions. Despite the soon loosed Horse's insisting that the whole affair was by the command of Aslan, when the other workers noticed their fellows' deaths, the trio made a hasty flight, the humans being invited to ride upon the Unicorn for the quick getaway. Strangely, after a very short race and just as Kathryn (and apparently Jewel, as well) was beginning to think that they would have time to rally their troops at Cair Paravel to counter this violation, Trinian cried out,

"Hold hard, friend. Let me off!"

"What are you thinking, Trinian?" the woman demanded, leaning on Jewel's back with her hands since the King's waist was no longer there for support. "We must ride!"

"My friends, we have done a dreadful deed."

"We were sorely provoked," Jewel defended, earning an approving nod from the Warder.

"But to leap on them unawares – without defying them – while they were unarmed – faugh! We are three murderers, Jewel. I am dishonored forever." The other two, being both wise creatures of honor, though not quite as obsessively as the monarch, drooped in shame at the realization that they had attacked an unarmed person; it was more so for Jewel, as the lady had lived through many days when it was a kill-or-be-killed policy, regardless of whether the enemy momentarily had a pointy objected aimed at you. "And then, the Horse said it was by Aslan's orders. The Rat said the same. They all say Aslan is here. How if it were true?"

Kate shook her head in disgust at that, and became even more disbelieving when the males actually came to the conclusion that they needed to give themselves up to the Calormenes!

"There is no need for both of us to go," the King said, though the Unicorn objected,

"If ever we loved one another, let me go with you now. If you are dead and if Aslan is not Aslan, what life is left for me?"

At that point, Kathryn had had enough self pity from the boys and decided right then and there to straighten them out.

"You are both out of your bloody, logic-forsaken minds! You nitwits! Do you really think that sacrificing your lives to this false Aslan will do any good beyond soothing your own stubborn, touchy sense of honor, which, I may point out, has gotten quite out of hand this day?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but we are not used to killing unarmed people," Trinian shot back, folding his arms and taking on that I'm-getting-my-way-and-you-can't-stop-me tone, but Kate didn't stop there. When he was desperate, the man always tried shooting at her past.

"You have a duty to your people to protect them against dangers like these Calormenes and this masquerader claiming to be Aslan. We all do. It's not something you can throw away on a whim. I know that from when the Telmarines first invaded. I wanted to fight to the death, but I had to hide myself away and wait for the Kings' and Queens' return. It was my foremost duty, just as it is yours as King to put your country's honor before your own, in this case."

"Jewel has a choice in this matter, but, as protector of Narnia under Aslan, _you_ have a duty to answer to Aslan, if it is truly Him."

"You keep assuming that it really is Him."

"And you keeping assuming that it's not."

"Trinian, it is madness to take such a risk…not with everything that is at stake."

"You and I don't have a choice. As much as I respect you and your judgment, our hands are tied. Warder Katarina, as King of Narnia, I command that you follow me into this venture…if it makes you feel any better, think of it as protecting me from the possible threat."

* * *

"O Lord Shift, mouthpiece of Aslan," the lead Calormene announced to the pathetic-looking Ape in a scarlet jacket and shoes in front of the hilltop shack. "We bring you prisoners. By our skill and courage and by the permission of the great god Tash we have taken alive these three desperate murderers."

"Give me their swords," it replied, nodding to Tirian and Kathryn's confiscated weapons. The latter, while keeping a straight face, had to put great effort into not wincing at how pathetic the apparent leader was, especially when he hung both noble blades about his neck. "We'll see about those three later. I got some other business first."

The next several minutes were spent with the Ape drilling the poor Squirrels about sacrificing their Winter stores of nuts to his use. It became more apparent by the second that this was not Aslan with whom they were dealing.

"But why can't we see Aslan properly and talk to him?" a Boar wisely queried, voicing the captives' curiosity. "When He used to appear in Narnia in the old days everyone could talk to Him face to face."

"Don't you believe it. And even if it was true, times have changed. Aslan says He's been far too soft with you before, do you see? Well, He isn't going to be soft any more. He's going to lick you into shape this time. He'll teach you to think He's a tame lion!"

If that brought on long faces from the many beasts, his next statement completely shattered the hope of all Animals.

"And now there's another thing you got to learn. I hear some of you saying I'm an Ape. Well, I'm not. I'm a Man. If I look like an Ape, that's because I'm so very old: hundreds and hundreds of years old. And it's because I'm so old that I'm so wise. And it's because I'm so wise that I'm the only one Aslan is ever going to speak to. He can't be bothered talking to a lot of stupid animals. He'll tell me what you've got to do, and I'll tell the rest of you. And take my advice, and see you do it in double quick time, for He doesn't mean to stand any nonsense."

Then, the horrid creature had the gall to say that Aslan was sending the Animals to labor under the Calormenes in their country as dumb slaves and claim, with the backing of the Calormene commander, that Aslan was actually the same as Tash!

Now, the King and his two compatriots had been silent up to that point, taking the opportunity to seek insight to the situation; however, those last proclamations were too much for either human to tolerate. While Tirian was momentarily stewing, Kate shifted her hands to try easing the chafing of her bonds and slowly looked up to glare at the Ape as she spoke.

"How _dare_ you compare the self-sacrificing, kind Aslan to the bloodsucker Tash? How _dare_ you think that you can just ship off these creatures, who have more sense than you ever could, even the Lamb, like they were merely dumb animals! How _dare_ you insult everything that I have ever stood for and protected!"

"And who may you be?" the slob questioned haughtily, despite the fact that he, along with everyone else, knew exactly who she was.

"Kathryn, as known as Katarina, Warder of Narnia since the Golden Age. I think that would make me a little more qualified to deserve Aslan's ear, since I have at least a thousand years on you."

Just then, Tirian's temper got the better of him and he growled,

"Ape, you lie damnably. You lie like a Calormene. You lie like an Ape."

The combined comments earned both Narnian speakers a minor beating, the King being hit in the mouth and in the back of the legs, making him fall, and Kate being simply whacked in the mouth, though, when she head-butted the nearest offender, she gained an additional hit in the head with someone's sword hilt, sending her down, as well. As the Ape commanded for them to be tied up somewhere else and they were dragged from the ground, she muttered to her King,

"I told you so."

* * *

"_Um, excuse me, Miss Aida," Chipperbark the Squirrel squeaked, jumping from branch to branch in the treetops as he tried to keep up with the running maiden, who wore a broad sword, a bow, and a quiver over her gray riding dress and light upper body armor in addition to her usual dagger. "My Lady, why don't you change into your avian form? You could reach the hunting lodge in less than half the time."_

"_For one thing, these arrows and sword won't change with me, unlike my dagger; second, we're not going to the King's lodge," she answered shortly, not slowing her running to talk. "We're going to find this supposed Aslan and, if it really is Him, demand why He let this disaster happen right under His nose and revoke my allegiance, or denounce whoever it really is for being a fraud."_

"_But what if you condemn the fellow and it really is Aslan?"_

"_Then I'll hand myself over to His judgment."_

"_Well then, I'm afraid we must part ways here, my Lady," the creature stated, stopping so abruptly with his companion that the branch he was on swayed rather violently for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I am not so sure that this personage _isn't_ Him and, if you're suspicions are wrong, I am not quite as ready for the consequences. I have a wife and children and I must collect food for the Winter. Please accept my sincerest apologies."_

"_Think nothing of it, my noble friend," replied Aida solemnly, interiorly mourning that this was the case anymore with so many Narnians who would have once rallied together against threatening tyranny. Now, even with foreign conquest threatening them again, all they thought of was surviving the storm as inevitable. "Return to your family; but tell those you find of the danger. Enemy invasion and false Aslans are not to be taken lightly."_

_With a sigh, the woman removed her extra armor and weaponry before transforming._

_SSSSSS_

_Upon returning to human form and reaching the clearing at the foot of the hill where the supposed Aslan's stable shelter stood, Aida didn't even have the chance to analyze the crowd surrounding the hill as three Calormene soldiers leapt forward out of nowhere and snatched her up. Dragging her towards the shed where a fat slug of an Ape sat, eating a giant pile of nuts, the men promptly deposited her and announced that she had been caught spying._

"_You pups didn't even give me time to do any spying, your Chubness," the Bird mocked._

"_We found this on her person," one of her captors said, holding up her dagger, though she didn't remember it being taken._

"_Did you really think you could get away with assassinating the great Aslan?" the monkey haughtily responded._

"_Listen, pal," she spat, "I don't know who in Narnia you are, but you should know that I am Aida the Transforming Falcon, created as a servant of Aslan Himself, protector of the Warders of Narnia, and likely to soon be the mate of Cadal the Eagle. I have the right to see Aslan, if that is truly who you are protecting." She noticed the glaring assortment of Narnians and Calormenes gazing at the shed with awe. "Never mind; I already know that this figure, whoever it is, is not Aslan. I was there in the days when He sacrificed Himself in humiliation, but Aslan would not hide in a barn from His people, allow Cair Paravel to be crushed by invaders, and leave this country without hope. Even during the hundred-year reign of the White Witch, we were never without hope and confidence of rescue. This coward and his supporters have only brought anguish."_

"_Enough!" cried the Ape, rather disgruntled and, with his anger, inflaming the wrath of the crowd upon the newcomer; fear was evident in his eyes, though. "I will confer with the great Aslan in this matter, but He has told me of you, cocky child, and I can only assure a fairly quick execution as comfort for you treachery."_

"_You must be joking! This mockery is pointless! Don't you know that these Calormenes you are working with just invaded and attacked Cair Paravel? Please, you have to stop this nonsense!"_

_Her plea went ignored._

"_Guards, tie her up somewhere where she won't be a nuisance."_

"Oh, bloody…"

Aida didn't have time to bother finishing the comment as two unexpected figures were forced toward her by the Calormene boys.

* * *

Once Tirian was securely tied to a great ash tree, the guards returned to the hill. The crowd remained at the stable, listening to the Ape, whose voice he could barely even hear because of the distance, after which the watchers all disbanded in utmost sorrow; those who by chance passed him didn't do anything to comfort his unfortunate position – the most he got was a sympathetic look.

The King viewed all these occurrences through a sort of fog which had replaced the dizziness caused by being hit in the head and, as the day faded into evening, he slowly came out of it as thirst, hunger, and soreness from being pinned against the tree came to the forefront. He tried testing his bonds at that point, grunting with effort, only to find them perfectly secure.

"Ah, so you're finally beginning to see our wonderfully precarious situation." The man jerked his head in the direction of the female voice. He knew that voice. "Over here, boy."

Following the sound with his eyes, Tirian finally saw the speaker tied to another tree about ten feet away to the right. He hadn't seen the woman sooner, primarily because he had been so focused on trying to hear and see what was going on on the hill, but also because, with her gray clothing and dusty brown hair, Aida rather blended in with the trunk. The sight of the ancient marvel halted all struggle; the Transforming Falcon, even tied to a tree and under the imminent threat of death, was often so cool and collected, sometimes even more so than Katarina. This time, though, something seemed to shadow her calm demeanor; unfortunately, he couldn't put a name to it.

"Aida! How long have you been here?"

"Only a few hours longer than you. You know, I'm sure I have pointed this out plenty of times since you were in your royal cradle…but, once you're focused on something, you really have a hard time noticing anything else."

"Yet another one of my great faults that you and Katarina love to remind me of."

"Hmm. Speaking of which, you have yet to notice your tree companion." Taking the hint, Tirian craned his neck around further to the right, finding the mentioned Warder beside him, limp in her bonds, her head drooping and her silky black hair completely hiding her face. He also noticed a few splattered drops of blood on the ground directly below her head. "She's been out almost since you were both put there. It looks like she was given quite a nasty bump on the head. Apparently, it really isn't Aslan after all."

At that moment, a thought suddenly occurred to the King…

"Aida…why, exactly, are you here? I thought you were in Cair Paravel."

A look of utter sadness suddenly revealed itself, but the woman didn't have time to say why as the pitter-patter of little feet became apparent; she almost seemed relieved by the interruption, in a gloomy way.

"Lord King! dear Lord King," said the shrill little voices of several Animals, including a few Mice, a few Moles, and at least one Rabbit, "we are so sorry for you. We daren't untie you because Aslan might be angry with us. But we've brought you all your supper."

Thanks for reading! Again, I'm very sorry for the delay. But we only have one or two more chapters to go! :D I hope the ending lives up to any expectations you might have built up.


	33. Heroes Coming Home

My apologies for yet another long-ish wait, but I know I'm not the only out there who has been drowning in school, work, and life in general. Here's a rather long chapter to hopefully make up for the delay. The end of the story is near...and so is the last battle of the Last Battle. ;) Any suggestions for the final shebang with details, points of view, flashbacks, fighting styles/partners/specific dual-ers...anything!...are quite welcome between now and my next update, which, sadly, won't be written and posted for...oh, two weeks, give or take. Enjoy!

Heroes Coming Home

"_But you did nothing wrong, my dear friends."_

The last sign of life to come out of Katarina's mouth had been that whispering comfort to the little creatures, who had come to refresh the prisoners, when one of them had crawled up to clean the blood from the woman's face, lamenting about the potential wrath of Aslan for their kindness.

That had been hours ago. Now, as Tirian stood against the tree, feeling sore, stiff, and exhausted, he watched the Narnians on the Hill light a bonfire, call for Aslan, and be gratified, not by a great graceful Lion, but by a stiff little creature that stood before the stable and said nothing. The only evidence of it even saying anything was the Ape putting its ear to listen to 'Aslan' and proclaiming more terrors that made the Animals moan and cry. Then the clumsy, stiff thing waddled back into the structure and the King bent his head in guilt and sorrow.

"That wasn't what you were expecting when they cried for Aslan, was it?" the sweet, strong voice of Aida queried as she stood proudly against her bindings, eyes shining with tears; but even the legendary Bird looked spent. "Narnia spent years falling into the abyss of neutrality and numbness, slowly beginning to not care whether or not there was an Aslan.

"You did not see it, Majesty, but I did. I walked and flew among them almost every day over these past two centuries; I was gratified partially by an occasional visit from Cadal the Eagle, but even my spirit sank from the despair of these people. Now that they think that He is truly back, they respond with fear and give in to every whim of this farce in dread of what it will do in revenge for their waning confidence. We can only hope that they can soon be strong to rise up against this false Aslan to welcome the real one. They need a nudge from you."

"But I can't do anything here."

"Look back in history, boy."

* * *

Peter watched with detached interest as Daisy sat on the couch between Edmund, who had long given up trying to help in the kitchen, and Cadal, sitting comfortably against the former with his arm around her shoulders and having an animated conversation with the latter. Jill and Eustace were at the worktable on the other end of the room occupying themselves with fixing a broken clock, while Aunt Polly sat next to the couch in a cushioned rocking chair, the Professor was across from her on the other side of the centerpiece coffee table in an old brown armchair, and Peter completed the set across from the couch and between the two elders in a seat that was almost identical to Digory's. While the older two were enjoying a little knitting and reading, respectively, the two Kings just watched the discussion.

"So, let me get this straight, Cadal," the young Warder was saying. "You haven't seen Aida in years, you've been wandering around England, you just _happened_ to go back to Narnia to see how things were going, and now you pop back here just to say that the country is 'troubled'? _Again_?"

Before replying, the Eagle narrowed his golden eyes slightly – he hadn't even bothered to disguise himself, this time.

"Well, for one thing, it has only been years in _Narnian_ time; in fact, according to the calendar here, I just went there three weeks ago. For another thing: I 'wander around' because I know from your experiences as Warder that people who don't belong on this world tend to somehow slip through when and where you least expect them. For their safety and everyone else's, I like to keep an eye out for intrusions. On the hand, when _you_ say it, you make me seem as though I don't care for Narnia. I just wanted you to know that something has darkened there. And, speaking of your job, I think you should start trying to find out why they're getting through in the first place."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it. However, I _do_ know that you like to use that as an excuse just to see the sights of Earth."

Cadal was about to respond in his usual collected manner; however, Lucy luckily beat him in speaking, emerging into the sitting room and announcing,

"Dinner is ready, everyone! Wash up and hurry up! Daisy and I worked hard on that meal and I don't want it to get cold."

Peter smiled at the Warder merely shaking her head and not bothering to argue that the only thing she had really made was a roast.

The party was soon all seated round the kitchen table, which was quite a bit bigger than the box the Professor had had a few years back; Digory sat at the head of the table, with Peter on his right, Ed on his left, and Aunt Polly on the other end with Cadal and Jill on either side of her; Lucy sat beside Peter, with Eustace next to Jill, and Daisy was again between Edmund and Cadal.

The meal went incredibly well, with Margaret's roast being the unspoken winner of all delicacies before them, even according to Lucy, who was a marvelous cook. There was an unstoppable flow of talk about Narnia, beginning with a first-hand telling of its beginning from Digory and Polly, continuing with Daisy's and the Pevensies' exchange of their adventures, hilarities, and tragedies, going onto the journeys of Eustace and Jill, and ending with a simple melting pot of scattered remembrances; Cadal remained silent, for the most part, though he was eventually sucked into sharing a few memories and involving himself in the conversation.

Whenever the talk would evolve away from Peter's personal knowledge, however, his mind always wandered to the people who should have been there and weren't. It was clear that the case was similar with Cadal. Susan no longer believed in Narnia, having married and gone on her own little merry way, though she still kept in contact with Daisy a bit; Aida had remained in the magical country even as Cadal stayed in England, refusing to leave, no matter what; and Kathryn… Most of the time, the King could feel content with knowing that she loved him and was safe, at least for the most part; however, he now had a sinking feeling that told him something was wrong.

It wasn't until a good two hours or more later that Professor Kirke stood with a contented sigh, taking his wine glass and raising it with the words,

"I am glad that we all could come together today, despite the fact that a few of us were…unable to attend. No matter what has happened here on Earth – the joys and the hardships – for the Friends of Narnia, our hearts and minds will always turn towards Aslan with hope and trust. It has been an honor to know each and every one of you and to be able to share our common ground in the reality of that beautiful country. To you, Kings, Queen, Lord, Ladies, Warder, and Guardian, and to the great Aslan, I propose a toast."

"To Aslan!"

With quiet appreciation, the company acknowledged the proposal, but then Margaret spoke up, taking Edmund's hand.

"Speaking of proposals…I think now is a fitting enough time to tell everyone about this, especially since it was in Narnia that it began and it has been long years waiting. Ed, do you want to say it?"

Shaking his head at the girl's playful smile, the young man graciously took his cue.

"Margie and I are getting married…finally."

Peter joined in clapping his congratulations, but the announcement pull on his heartstrings.

Just as the girls started chattering away about weddings, though, something strange happened. Suddenly, part of the ceiling and wall with the back door seemed to simply fade out of existence, being replaced by sort of a foggy vision of a man with golden hair and blue eyes. Even as the apparition gained more clarity, various signs of surprise scattered themselves about the company, including the three youngest of the party standing abruptly, Jill letting out a short scream, Daisy allowing a muffled bit of profanity not decent enough for innocent ears as she turned in her chair, and the Professor knocking his glass to the floor.

But Peter remained still in his seat, the blood gone from his cheeks and his hand curled into a tight fist. While the others were focusing on the stiff-standing man, seemingly just as stunned as they, the High King's eyes wandered to the finer details of the new scene. Beside the probable Narnian, remaining shrouded in mist, was another figure; though it was slumped forward as if against tight bonds and the long hair completely covered its face, he knew full well who it was. But he had a duty to call upon the stranger and he couldn't allow his desperation for the other's safety to cloud that duty. So, still allowing his eyes to wander to the vision's companion and with a nod from Kirke, Peter commanded,

"Speak, if you're not a phantom or a dream. You have a Narnian look about you and we are the Friends of Narnia."

When the man apparently tried to shout and reply but was unable to bring forth any sound, Peter turned his full attention on him, stood with head held high, and called out,

"Shadow or spirit or whatever you are… If you are from Narnia, I charge you in the name of Aslan, speak to me. I am Peter the High King."

But there would be no speaking on the part of the Narnian, for as soon as the King had finished talking, the vision began to fade, eventually being replaced once more by the plain wooden wall of the Professor's cottage.

Instantly, the entire group was deliberating what to do about Narnia and it was ultimately and eventually decided that Peter, Edmund, and Cadal would go to fetch Digory Kirke's old magic rings for Daisy, Eustace, and Jill to get to Narnia.

They had a rescue in the making; hopefully they weren't too late. Kate hadn't moved an inch during the entire ordeal of the yelling, silent man…and it was obviously all Cadal could do to not simply rush to Narnia's aid without backup, but he seemed to contain himself in order to help the Friends of Narnia in their plan.

* * *

When the vision disappeared, once more being replaced by darkness and trees, the Narnian King's broad shoulders slumped in despair. Was there really any hope for the country and the people he loved? Two of Narnia's legendary saviors were helplessly pinned to tree trunks, one of which was already dead, for all he could tell, and all the rest were gone to that mysterious _other_ place. Would…_could_ they come to the rescue once more, or was this the end?

Just then, there was a rustling in the trees, followed by a piercing cry that echoed probably for miles across the countryside. Before Tirian could even blink, there was a tall, golden-haired man with fierce amber eyes standing almost directly in front of him: one of the people he had seen in the vision.

Without a word, the newcomer turned to the tree where the now-drooping Aida was bound. Still silent, he ripped the ropes away with superhuman viciousness from the Bird-Woman and caught her before she could fall to the ground, picking her up bride-style and, just as she began to regain consciousness, disappearing again by simply walking through an invisible doorway.

Only a few minutes later, there was a _thump_, and then another _thump_, and suddenly there were two children (well, they were more around their late teens, but still children in the eyes of most adults), the youngest of the group from the vision, standing before him.

"Gosh!" said the boy with blue eyes and blondish hair, "that took one's breath away! I thought –"

"Hurry up and get them untied," interrupted the girl with blue-gray eyes and auburn hair. "We can talk, afterward. Oh, if only Cadal and Daisy hadn't been so adamant about running off and coming without us. Who knows where they are, now."

While the girl was talking, the other new arrival brought a knife out of his pocket and quickly cut through the King's bonds; too quickly, in fact, for, as soon as the ropes were loose, he fell forward onto his hands and knees, unable to stand for a good while because of how stiff and sore he was. Katarina likewise fell, though she did not have the strength nor the awareness to do stop herself from simply collapsing limply into the grass.

"I say," the girl continued, her hands on her hips as she hovered over the man. "It was you, wasn't it, who appeared to us that night when we were all at supper? Nearly a week ago."

"A week, fair maid?" Tirian breathed, standing, still rubbing the feeling back into his legs, and practically forgetting about blacked-out Warder for his wonder. "My dream led me into your world scarce ten minutes since."

"It's the usual muddle about times, Pole," the boy inputted.

"I remember now. That too comes in all the old tales. The time of your strange land is different from ours. But if we speak of Time, 'tis time to be gone from here: for my enemies are close at hand. Will you come with me?"

"Of course. It's you we've come to help," the girl replied as they began heading away from the distant shed.

Then he remembered.

"Shame upon me! But what of Katarina?" cried the King, swiftly turning to the limp human pile nearby and lifting her into a slumping sitting position. Despite the Narnian Animals' attempt to clean the blood from her face, a few splatters and a small trail from her temple still tried to dull her beauty. "She is sorely injured. Do either of you have any water or bandaging of sorts? Oh, but we should fly from this place before they find us free, then I can tend to her. You, boy; you seem strong enough. Can you help me carry her until I have regained my strength?"

Some time later, when the teenagers had seen to it that Tirian 'regained his strength' by scarfing down all six of their offered sandwiches and drinking from a spring at the bottom of a valley, he was more than eager to fully take on the task of carrying the woman; though it was partially because of the awkwardness of two people bearing her and trying to walk swiftly at the same time, it was mostly because the King felt responsible for Katarina's current position.

* * *

During their journey to an old guard tower where they would be able to find refuge and safety, the travelers exchanged tales, Tirian telling his rescuers of how he found himself tied to a tree and the other two regaling him with the story of how, after his appearance, Edmund, Peter, and Cadal, with Daisy tagging along, had gone back to the Professor's childhood home and fetched the rings for Jill and Eustace to use in getting back to Narnia; they, Lucy, Aunt Polly, and the Professor had then boarded a train to meet the others. Things had not gone quite as planned since Cadal and Daisy had run off at some point with one of the magic rings soon before Peter and Ed sent the others a wire telling them to come.

Eventually, the group arrived at an ancient, squatty square tower with a heavy door, which Tirian managed to unlock after setting Katarina down and rifling through the set of keys on a chain around his neck.

"Welcome, friends," the King said. "I fear this is the best palace that the King of Narnia can now offer to his guests."

Though both teens told him not to mention it and that they were sure it was lovely, the dark, damp one-room building was definitely not pleasant. The place had several rude bunks, an old, not-lately-used fireplace, dozens of lockers and bundles strewn about, and a wooden staircase to the trapdoor that led to the battlements.

It was high noon by the time they disguised themselves as Calormenes with some locked-away armor and skin-darkening liquid, managed to light a roaring fire that actually made the place seem somewhat cheerful, and made a dull meal out of a porridge of hard biscuits, salt, and boiled water. It wasn't until then that Tirian finally risked tending to Warder, who didn't look a bit different (other than her injuries, of course) from the time Eustace and Jill had seen her during their last trip to Narnia.

Just as the Earthlings' new friend had finished cleaning away the dry blood and putting a light bandage around her head, the woman let out a quiet moan and grabbed the King's hand before he could move away with her eyes still closed. A pained ghost of a smile showed on her pale face as she whispered,

"Peter, why leave me to this fate? I loved you. I...love you. Come back. Please, don't let them take me."

Then she was out again.

"What was that about?" Scrubb asked while Tirian gently held Kathryn's hand for a moment and replied,

"Katarina is a lady of great mystery – always keeping her emotions to herself. But, for as long as I can remember, whenever she was troubled about something, she would dream about High King Peter (that's what she told me, anyway, when she remembered). Most of the time, it's just a jumble of her thoughts after the High King left in the Golden Age, when Cair Paravel was lost to the Telmarines, and when he came back to help Caspian the Tenth, only to lose him again. I've heard her say that particular verse once or twice before, but, alas, I cannot place it."

"You sure seem certain about what she's thinking," Jill warily pointed out, suspicious of the King's assumptions, but Tirian only breathed a laugh.

"She has always been there for me – as somewhat of a second mother, as a big sister, and as an adviser. Whenever the chance arose (most of the time when I begged), she would tell me fantastic stories of her adventures with my predecessors…but she always came back to her beloved Peter the Magnificent."

With that, the girl wondered many things, looking down with new curiosity at the Warder's calmed face. Until now, she had never realized how close the oldest Pevensie boy and Daisy's nonexistent cousin must have been. No wonder poor Peter always had that sort of distant look when he thought no one was looking.

* * *

It had been hours and hours since the adventurers had scouted out Stable Hill, rescued Tirian's friend, Jewel the Unicorn, and discovered the creature behind the figure of the supposed Aslan, a Donkey named Puzzle. The two persons from Earth had been able to sleep until ten and they had awakened to good company and anticipation for a good meal.

Jill, long done with her stew, furrowed her brow in worry as the group sat outside Tirian's tower while Poggin the Dwarf, a volunteer deserter of the Ape's servitude and rebelling Dwarfs, concluded his horrendous tale of how Ginger, the Cat in the Ape's counsel, was practically running things in crushing the hopes of Narnia. Then, suddenly, the girl thought she saw Katarina, who had been laying beside her against the house since they brought her out only fifteen minutes previously, stir a little.

* * *

"About time. You had us worried, Lady."

Kathryn squinted in the blazing sun, trying to see the speaker through her watering eyes. She succeeded when a huge figure stood above her, blocking the sunlight and revealing a great white Unicorn.

"Jewel!" the woman exclaimed quietly, cringing at the slight throbbing of her head. "Jewel, how did you get away? What happened?"

"We happened," resounded the voice of another lady. With her eyes adjusting, she saw a familiar-looking girl, though covered in a dark paste, sitting nearby, along with the other people present. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm…"

"Jill Pole and…Eustace Scrubb… My question still hasn't been answered, though. The last thing I remember is…we killed those Calormene invaders, we were taken to the Ape and discovered that he and the Calormenes were working together to bring Narnia to its knees, insisting that Aslan and _Tash_ were the same, and there was a struggle, and…?"

With that, she looked questioningly at Tirian, who instantly got the point and responded.

"You received a head wound and lost consciousness and we were tied to a tree, where I encountered Aida also restrained. While you were out, some Animals came and brought food and drink and tried to assist your injury; I called out to the Kings and Queens of Old and was surprised to actually be answered; and then these two appeared out of nowhere."

Kate's gaze hardened.

"Tirian, what happened to Aida?"

"A man I have seen lurking about before came, untied her, and quite literally disappeared into thin air. I have not seen them since."

"It must have been…"

It was the Warder's turn to cut off her sentence as everyone suddenly looked up in confusion and worry. As they were speaking, the bright, warm weather had turned bitter cold and cloudy.

"It's clouding over," commented Jill.

"And it's so cold," the Donkey said, also pointing out the obvious.

"Cold enough, by the Lion!" Tirian exclaimed, blowing on his hands. Kathryn only curled up against the tower and drew her legs up against her chest as a threatening presence, worse than any army or Witch, tingled in the back of her mind. "And faugh! What foul smell is this?"

"Phew!" gasped Eustace. "It's like something dead. Is there a dead bird somewhere about? And why didn't we notice it before?"

In dismay, Jewel abruptly turned and looked the sky, crying,

"Look! Look at it! Look, look!"

All of them watched in horror as a shadowy, smoky shape appeared not far off in the sky, flying slowly Northward. The Narnians all knew what the terrible bird-man cause of the stench was: the Calormene demon god Tash.

It took some time after the sight and smell faded from range for them to recover and process the terror that was occurring. The hiding Donkey was found behind the tower, Jewel continued the story by telling of his captivity, and Poggin the Dwarf made a greasy concoction to clean off the skin-darkening stuff used by Tirian and children to look like Calormenes.

Kathryn, while the other humans were washing off the grime, experimentally removed the bandaging around her forehead, gently rinsed away the crusty blood still on her face, and gingerly walked around. Surprisingly, after a moment of nausea, it helped.

Soon enough, they were off to find General Roonwit, gather their armies, and crush the invasion of despair and the Calormenes.

* * *

"Oh, I do hope we can soon settle the Ape and get back to those good, ordinary times. And then I hope they'll go on forever and ever and ever. _Our _world is going to have an end some day. Perhaps this one won't. Oh Jewel—wouldn't it be lovely if Narnia just went on and on—like what you said it has been?"

Katarina noticeably fell behind the group at that.

"Nay, sister," said Jewel, "all worlds draw to an end, except Aslan's own Country."

"Well, at least, I hope the end of this one is millions of millions of millions of years away—hallo! What are we stopping for?"

Everyone stood stock-still in fright, staring up at the sky at a small, dark figure against the blue sky, seemingly a large bird.

"I dare swear," said Jewel, "from its flight, that is a Talking Bird."

"So think I," added Tirian. "But is it a friend, or a spy of the Ape's?"

"To me, Sire," pointed out the Dwarf, "it has the look of Farsight the Eagle."

"Ought we to hide under the trees?" Eustace worriedly queried.

"Nay," interjected the King, "best stand still as rocks. He would see us for certain if we moved. Katarina, stand _still_!" he finished with a hiss when the Warder not only failed to comply, but walked in a relatively small circle, gently swinging her arms back and forth. "Are you mad, woman?"

"Look! He wheels, he has seen us already," Jewel said, still staring up. "He is coming down in wide circles. And look! Look! Two more Birds coming from the opposite direction! And they are circling as well."

"Arrow on string, Lady," the King persisted, glaring at Kathryn when she didn't also prepare her bow taken from the tower. "But by no means shoot till I bid you. They may be friends."

Eventually, the Eagle's graceful circling brought him to a rocky crag only a few feet from Tirian and the majestic creature bowed his head in respect, saying,

"Hail, King."

Seconds later, the other two landed on the ground transforming into human form before their feet could touch the grass and likewise addressing the King. One was Aida and the other was her mysteriously familiar rescuer.

"Hail, Farsight; hail, Aida; and hail to your avian companion, who I assume is Cadal. And since you call me King, I may well believe you are not a follower of the Ape and his false Aslan. I am glad of your coming."

The Bird cocked his head.

"Sire, when you have heard my news you will sorrier of my coming than of the greatest woe that ever befell you."

Tirian's heart stopped beating at those words and he couldn't help but glance in worry and wonderment at Katarina and the newcomers.

"Tell on."

"Two sights have I seen. One was Cair Paravel fill with dead Narnians and living Calormenes: The Tisroc's banner advanced upon your royal battlements: and your subjects flying from the city—this way and that into the woods. Cair Paravel was taken from the sea. At least twenty ships came…out of nowhere…I'm not sure how."

"It was my fault," Aida interrupted. "I should have seen them before."

"And the other sight, five leagues nearer than Cair Paravel, was Roonwit the Centaur lying dead with a Calormene arrow in his side. I was with him in his last hour and he gave me this message to your Majesty: to remember that all worlds draw to an end and that a noble death is a treasure which no one is too poor to buy."

"I was there. Stop it, Cadal," the Bird-Woman again put in, trying and failing to shake off her tall friend's hand from her shoulder. "I heard from the Dryads only fifteen minutes ago that they fell upon General Roonwit during his return to Cair Paravel. It was I who commanded brave Farsight here to remain to see the real conclusion of the battle and, if worse came to worse, report the carnage. Unfortunately, I was not unwise to make such an order. Oh, Farsight, why did I leave when you needed me most?"

The Eagle only shook his head.

"No, Lady, you did what you could and were wise to leave and investigate this disaster. You know very well that the castle's fate was decided long before you made the decision to go."

After a long silence, the King finally said dejectedly,

"So, Narnia is no more."

"Not if I can help it!" someone suddenly yelled, rushing out of the trees and into the clearing and stopping short of the group, breathing heavily. The brunette in a sleeveless hard leather top and soft rawhide trousers and carrying a leather satchel, glared at Cadal and Aida. "First, you leave me standing in an alley, Cadal, and take the magic ring with you, then you suddenly pop back with Aida half-conscious, then we all march on back here and you tell me that the two of you are just doing some scouting and will go slow enough for me to keep up. I ran the whole way, you nincompoop!"

"Margaret, nice to see you too," Kathryn sarcastically said.

"Sorry, cous… Nice to see you!" the other Warder of legend responded, instantly going to hug her old friend.

"And may I ask where you found a costume like that between Earth and here?"

"I have my connections in England, Kate, don't you worry. Meanwhile, it's nice to see you all, but we have a country to save. And I don't believe I have met the latest King of Narnia, yet."


	34. Battle on the Hill

Thanks princess emma of narnia, ToryTigress92, and DragonRider2000 for your reviews! I didn't end up focusing as much on the battle as I would have liked, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. :)

Loreena Mckennitt's "The Old Ways" is for scenes 4-6…

Battle on the Hill

As the travelers marched on to the dreaded Stable Hill, the Warders and the Transforming Birds remained silent for the most part as the youngest two contemplated the possibility of death and the other Narnians discussed their plan of action. Aida was still quietly mourning the loss of Cair Paravel, which had been under her command up to the point of the Calormene attack, and was comforted with equal solemnity by Cadal, who showed a rare piece of evidence of their mutual affection by holding her hand as they walked. The girl was rather jealous of their companionship; she wished Ed was there to hold her hand and tell her that Narnia could once again be saved.

Margie walked beside her ancient, once-younger cousin at the head of the group, more following than jointly leading since she had no clue where they were going. You couldn't exactly blame her; after all, she only came to Narnia every few hundred years, give or take. Her focus had been on putting people who somehow crossed the border of worlds to Earth back in their place, not on geography. But Kathryn hadn't exactly had it easy either. While Daisy's 'tests' had been centered around greed and lust, not to mention her constant dealings with the world-wanderers, Kate had been challenged by resentment and time. She only saw Peter a few times since he left Narnia the first time, a thousand years ago. Personally, Margaret would have gone crazy.

Tired of the silence, the musing girl spoke to her cousin.

"So…what has Narnia been like since I last saw you?"

The silent lady warrior looked distantly ahead, her lips tightening into a fine line before she answered in an even voice,

"Before now, there was contented peace throughout Narnia under Tirian's just reign, though he may still act like a hot-headed, hasty boy; however, for a long time, many Narnians, deep in their hearts, have lost faith and belief in Aslan. They chase their own agendas; Dwarfs see Badgers as lower than themselves, though the latter be wiser, Minotaurs look down upon Fauns, though the latter have a far more balanced view of life, and the human Narnians stand in awe of Calormenes even though they are far more blessed by their own country compared to the ruthless, constant dissention in Calormen. If you stand back and look at Narnia as a trade partner and government, it is admirably stable, but the people are becoming corrupted. The coming hours will certainly separate the wheat from the chaff. How is Earth?"

Margie barked a laugh, no longer phased by Kate's constant solemnity. Time had hardened her…and hopefully time would soften her heart, as well.

"About the same, but without the Dwarfs and Fauns and the rest. Peter misses you terribly."

One of those ghostly smiles crossed the damsel's face, but she didn't reply, forcing the silence to once more reign and leaving Daisy brooding over what design she would make her wedding dress when she got back.

* * *

Before falling asleep, Tirian had mused humorously over the lighthearted, sarcastic strength of the recently-appeared other Warder of Narnia. It was strange how the two supposed cousins were so different.

Then, upon waking before any of the others after sleeping soundly against Jewel's side, he had covertly watched Katarina sneak out of the bushes they were hiding in and return a few minutes later, cloaked in darkness, carrying her sword that had been previously confiscated before being tied to that bloody tree. When he whispered an inquiry after her actions, she merely sniffed and muttered something about 'losing her touch'. It truly was a marvel how different the two Warders had turned out; one was a cheerful, tough joker with feisty and genius streaks, and the other was a meditative, protective adviser with hints of depression and anger; one was mostly carefree, the other mostly troubled.

After the adventurers had all risen and the three Birds were interrupted from their slumber, they all went sneaking to the stable, hid the Donkey behind the building, and stayed in the shadows as the nearby bonfire grew enough to reveal the crowd of Narnians on the other side of the fire and the whimpering Ape being led to the front of the shed by the Tarkaan. To make things worse than ever and ruining the King's plan to reveal Puzzle the Donkey as the dissenters' supposed Aslan, the Ape actually announced the farce himself, though he claimed that the lion costume had nothing to do with him. With that avenue blocked, Jill hid the lion skin and moved Puzzle away from the dreaded stable.

But the Monkey kept up his lie by claiming that 'Tashlan' was inside the stable and demanding that He would only see the Narnians one at a time in the building.

Ginger the Cat, who was close in the Tarkaan's counsel, went in first, surprising even Shift the Ape and the Tarkaan when he zipped back out in a panic and yowled like a common kitty, having lost his gifts as a Talking Animal. Second was a young Calormene officer whose innocent faith and curiosity drove him to seek answers in the stable; only the rebel masterminds and the King's hidden entourage were close enough to see that the dead man thrust back out onto the grass was not the boy who had entered. The last straw came when the Calormenes tried forcing a Boar into the shed as well.

At that moment, sick of watching his people suffer, Tirian whispered the command,

"Swords out. Arrow on string. Follow."

"About time," Margaret grumbled, eagerly notching an arrow in her bow and expertly pulling the string back in preparation to fire at any second.

"Majesty," his life-long adviser suddenly addressed him, holding out his sword, which he had previously missed and Katarina had apparently salvaged with her own, "you may want this."

With everyone having their weapons ready except for Kate, Tirian led them into the firelight and shouted with his naturally commanding voice,

"Here stand I, Tirian of Narnia, in Aslan's name, to prove with my body that Tash is a foul fiend, the Ape a manifold traitor, and these Calormenes worthy of death. To my side, all true Narnians. Would you wait till your new masters have killed you all one by one?"

As the Tarkaan leapt away into the crowd to avoid being gored by a Unicorn or have his eyes pecked out by two Eagles and Falcon, Tirian glanced at the Warders – his Warders – Narnia's Warders. The determination in their eyes, their willingness to give their lives for Aslan and this country, and their passion for their duty to protect it all… It was inspiring. But there was also fear intermingled in those hazel and blue eyes. And uncertainty. Neither was as confident as she allowed him to believe that they would succeed in winning over the Narnians and returning the land to its former glory yet again.

In quick succession over the following minutes, the King hurled Shift into the barn to be consumed by the mysterious green-blue light within and every single Dog from the crowd (about fifteen) came bounding eagerly to the King's side, nearly knocking the humans down with lickings and wagging tails (the Birds, including the still avian-formed two, simply perched on the shoulders of the King and Warders, looking down in disapproval when the Canines' jumping nearly caused them to fall); next, several Mice, Moles, and a few Squirrels joined them; then, a Bear and the Boar…but still so few!

"To me! To me!" Tirian persisted desperately, shocked at the great number that remained. "Have you all turned cowards since I was your King?"

But no more came and he ended up sending the Rodents to release the Talking Horses that were apparently tied up down the hill.

When the Tarkaan gave orders to try throwing the true Narnians into the stable, he heard Margaret audibly sigh and grumble something about 'dying a thousand times' rather than find out what was in there.

When he gave the orders for Jill, Margaret, Poggin, the Boar, and the Bear to stay on the left, Eustace, Jewel, and Puzzle to be on his right, the Birds to hover and attack from overhead, and the Dogs to follow behind, Tirian caught sight of a wry smile on Kathryn's face as she drew her sword at his shoulder.

* * *

Kate had shot the Calormene drummer, thank Aslan, so the horrid summoning of the extra enemy troops had ceased…but they were obviously too late to stop those reinforcements from coming. The Dwarfs weren't helping the situation and the Narnians were having enough difficulty even without the incoming problems. Everyone had retreated for a moment to regroup, but the hazel-eyed Warder knew what would happen. Everyone did. What would really happen when she died here?

If only for Edmund.

The others were feeling the dread, too. Poggin the faithful Dwarf was even then despairing that they would all find their way into the stable before the end of the night. Did they have the courage still to fight the repression they had set out to crush? Only an hour before, they had been just itching to begin the battle; now, all seemed hopeless.

Noticing how Jill was trembling, Daisy put an encouraging arm around her shoulders…not that she could actually give encouragement to face probably a horrible death with a simple touch…but bigger things had happened with less.

It was truly amazing how the least of things could mean the most. Feelings and memories of frivolous and unassuming events could hold onto a person even more than the great battles and adventures of a lifetime. The saddest happenings could give birth to the greatest of romances and the most wondrous of adventures.

"_Your Majesty, wait up!" she barked, her greenish-gray skirts flying in the wind._

_The King looked back, laughing and his steed pranced beneath him._

"_What? Are you tired, Margaret?"_

_The girl glowered even as her Horse slowed to a stop beside the Just King._

"_No, but Gina is."_

"_Now you're just telling stories!" retorted the female Horse, snorting in irritation and embarrassment, and glancing at Philip, who laughed a horsey laugh._

"_You should consider going easy on those oats, Gina."_

_Again a snort._

"_Enough insulting me. I'll race you to the river!"_

"_Gina, remember you shouldn't..."_

_Margaret didn't get the chance to say anything more, for the saucy old Mare instantly bolted forward, leaping in the direction of the river two miles away with more determination than anyone had seen from her in at least three years. All the Warder could do was cling to the saddle, let alone the reigns, for dear life. At first, Edmund and Philip simply trotted behind, laughing at Gina's silliness…that is, until they realized that Margaret wasn't exactly too keen on the whole situation and Philip was worried that his female friend would hurt herself. _

_It took several minutes for the men to catch up; by that time, Margie was practically plastered to Gina's back, begging her to slow down before she hurt herself while Gina simply ignored her. _

"_Margie," the King called, glancing with concern at his also not-so-young steed, "you might have to jump."_

"_Me? In a dress? Jump from one racing Horse to another? Not in a million years!"_

"_Margaret, I don't think Gina has a mind to stop. You don't really have a choice."_

"_Oh, yes I do!"_

_The lady was rather surprised, understandably, when both the King and Philip suddenly screeched to a stop and, curious, she twisted around as much as she could to give them a puzzled look. _

_That was when Gina tripped in a ditch; that was when Margaret went flying into a bush and landed on a sharp stick with her arm. When Edmund found her, she was sore, disoriented, bleeding, and covered in brambles, but alive._

"_Margie, are you all right?" the King gasped, digging her out of the shrubbery and scooping her up into his arms._

"_I'm – ow! – fine, but what Gina?" she said, dabbing away the blood from her elbow._

"_Not fine, I'm afraid," he responded, hoisting the girl into Philip's saddle without looking back and jumping up behind her. Exhausted from the ride and the fall, she simply slumped against his broad chest, blushing at the thought. "Comfortable?"_

"_Quite," was the answer. _

_Sadly, she missed the priceless, insuppressible grin that appeared on the face of King Edmund the Just. And it remained there for the rest of the ride home, despite the loss of the faithful, if cocky, Horse._

Picking up a discarded broadsword and gazing blankly at the reinforced Calormene troops, Daisy fingered the scar on her elbow, smiling grimly at the memory. Oh, Edmund.

* * *

"Hearken," called the prideful Tarkaan. "If the Boar and the Dogs and the Unicorn will come over to me and put themselves in my mercy, their lives shall be spared. The Boar shall go to a cage in The Tisroc's garden, the Dogs to The Tisroc's kennels, the Unicorn, when I have sawn his horn off, shall draw a cart, and the Warders will make pretty slaves for The Tisroc's palace. But the Birds, the children, and he who was the King shall be offered to Tash this night."

"Psh. You've got to be kidding me," scoffed Margaret, twirling her sword as Kathryn simply glared at the offensive Tarkaan and everyone else wordlessly growled.

"Get on, warriors. Kill the beasts, but take the two-legged ones alive."

Then, the real Last Battle for Narnia truly began. Before, it had just been an organized skirmish; now, it was a desperate bloodbath of a fight for freedom. The enemies from before, those who had infiltrated Narnia in ones and twos and threes as peaceful merchants with no room to hide spears, had been easy, but the reinforcements that had come with the attack force were armed to the teeth with arrows, shields, swords, _and _spears.

At first, Daisy merely leapt into the fray, slashing with her weapon and defending her own self against the swarming soldiers of Calormen. But then, she suddenly ran into something that threw off her desperate concentration. It was only a tree, but the bump snapped her out of her own little world and made her realize that she had just sliced, slashed, chopped, stabbed, and hacked to death at least eight swarthy Calormene brutes. The Warder's unguarded skin was dyed red with their blood and the sight of it all made the girl want to lose every meal she had ever eaten right then and there. Their eyes were not closed like those who had died in their sleep; they were open wide – staring – asking the ultimate question: Why?

How could she have been so heartless to just kill these people without a single thought as to whether they were even aiming at her or whether they had families and homes that depended on them? What had really driven them to invade? Was it mere bloodlust and thirst for power and domination, or was it a well-concealed famine or pestilence or other tragedy that had driven them to take over a country with plenty? And why was she suddenly so sensitive to the whys, the hows, and the bloodshed? She had always prided herself as the fearless lady warrior of Narnia. That was one of the things that had separated her and her cousin; while Kathryn was all-around the fierce doe, Daisy was fiercer in battle. No one stood in her way.

Shaking herself, Margaret gripped her blade, surprised at how little she had forgotten over the years in matters of warfare, wiped some of her frizzing hair out of her face, and quickly took in the situation before she would be attacked again, hoping to glean from the carnage which of her friends needed the most help. It was a tragic thing: everyone needed help and only a few were left standing.

The Boar had just been skewered by spears, bless his stalwart heart.

Jewel the Unicorn, his blinding white coat spotted by crimson, was barely holding his own against the dozen bladed sticks being jabbed at him.

Farsight and Bird-formed Aida were still bobbing about, ripping off helmets and scratching and pecking the horrified enemy faces without mercy, and Cadal, in human form, had somehow acquired a sword and was slashing and blocking most admirably.

Jill was being dragged by the hair towards the barn and Eustace was also succumbing to the Calormene force as they surrounded him.

King Tirian was a bold sight to see; many enemies came at him, but few survived an encounter with the furious Narnian and his flying blade. Sadly, he was unaware that he was being herded closer and closer towards the hated Stable.

But it was her cousin to whom Margaret fled to aid, deep in the battle and the forest of spear-bearing foes. Kate had always been the more cool and graceful of the two Warders, countering her relation's quick, sarcastic, and snappy personality, despite the fact that she could hold a grudge for hundreds of years while Daisy was more of the quick-to-judge and quick-to-forgive type, mostly. Now, the dark-haired woman was proving her renown, looking more like a dancer than warrior as she dealt with her challengers with marvelous darting and the sweeping mortal kiss of her sword.

* * *

Suddenly finding herself back to back with an ally, Kathryn, without hesitation, snatched the newcomer off their feet by latching her arms around theirs' and flipped them over her back in a backwards summersault to kick two burly Calormenes straight in the face, knocking them and a good ten others behind them down in a prize-worthy domino effect. Margaret, having not expected the abrupt move, nearly got herself killed as she stared at the other Warder in shock before barely blocking a new enemy. Before the downed invaders could get back up with their heavy armor, the girls guiltlessly ran through their midst and dispatched of them, only to run into even more foreigners. How many were there?

Without time or energy to waste, the cousins began a dance of death that would have gone down in the history books as elegant, deadly, mind-boggling, and beautiful. Despite being surrounded by the men of Calormen, the mortality rate of the assailants was at least eight out of ten before the survivors would fall back to nurse their wounds prior to trying again.

Much of the time, they just stood back-to-back, defending on all sides. Then, Kathryn would end up in a sort of bladed arm-wrestling match as she blocked a potentially nasty gash and Daisy would quickly turn to stab the distracted soldier, or Margaret would be faced with two or three spears at once and Kate would be snatched from her side by the wrist to sweep away the spears before they both took daggers to the stunned men. It was a mess of blood, sweat, and tears for those who fell.

Then she saw a Calormene fly its course through the air and finds its mark.

* * *

Margie managed to keep herself fairly emotionally distant from the carnage, but she was shocked out of it for a moment when an uncharacteristic scream ripped through the other Warder's throat just as the screeching of an Eagle and the angry bellowing of a man pierced the air.

The brunette turned, praying that nothing had happened to Kate, but, just as she turned, distracted for but a moment, her back exploded with pain – horrific, stabbing, enveloping pain.

* * *

From just realizing that he had been backed into the very doorway of the Stable in his dueling of the Tarkaan, Tirian heard the shrieks. He saw Farsight fall and he saw Cadal lunge out of a mess of Calormenes, his eyes dead-set on something. He didn't see Aida anywhere…but he saw the scattered feathers floating through the air and on the ground.

With nothing more to lose and determined to not go down without a fight, the King suddenly dropped his sword, darted forward under a sweep of the enemy's scimitar, seized him with both hands by the belt, and jumped back into the barn, shouting,

"Come in and meet Tash yourself!"

Instantly, the door slammed shut and the invaders could be heard loudly chanting, "Tash! Tash!" For a moment, all was darkness. Despite the terrors of this night, Tirian could feel the grim satisfaction that he had taken the enemy down with him to get a taste of his own medicine, whatever it really was.

Just then, Katarina came barreling into the King, having been thrown through the door rather than merely shoved. In the dim glowing light, he could see that the clotted head wound had reopened during the fight and bled more than ever, staining her face, hair, and shoulder with scarlet blood. The damsel jerked in fright upon seeing Tash hovering over them (with the Tarkaan tucked snugly under his wing) and, despite keeping her voice from shaking, her fingers were clenched around Tirian's mail shirt till her knuckles were white. In fact, he had never seen the great Warder so frightened in his entire life.

"It has been…an honor serving this great country with you, King Tirian. It's somewhat fitting that you and I, the Last King and the last standing Warder, should meet our end together…for Aslan."

"For Aslan," the man repeated, grasping the woman's hand and courageously staring up at the looming horror while the bleeding Katarina leaned on him as her strength continued to wane. Under normal circumstances, she probably could have at least tried using her power as Warder of Narnia to banish away the demon-god, but, between her injury and exhaustion from fighting, she was by no means in a position to do so.

Just as Tash was ready to pounce, however, a man's voice as calm and strong as the summer sea spoke, commanding,

"Begone, Monster, and take your lawful prey to your own place: in the name of Aslan and Aslan's great Father the Emperor-over-the-Sea."

Instantly, Tash disappeared, the Tarkaan still under its arm, and Tirian turned to see the speaker; it was a sight that sent his heart beating faster than in any battle he had ever fought.

Thanks for reading!


	35. Forever Yours

Thank you, lady knight acire of narnia, for your review and thanks to all of you who have supported this story with your comments and suggestions! And, by the way, I'm sorry that it took me so long to finish this up. I hope you enjoyed it! Personally, I think the last scene of this chapter is rather a favorite of mine.

Loreena Mckennitt's "Full Circle" is with scenes 1-2 and Nightwish's "Forever Yours" is for scene 5...

Forever Yours

Before him stood ten Kings and Queens, all dressed in bright royal apparel fitting for the greatest of celebrations. The Kings additionally wore glittering, fine chain mail and were holding drawn swords in their hands. Just as Katarina quickly knelt and Tirian bowed low and was about to speak, however, the youngest Queen laughed, causing the Narnian to look up in confusion. Then, he suddenly recognized the young damsel. It was Jill, but, instead of covered in tears and dirt and wearing that old, ripped dress, she was cool and fresh as though having just bathed, and she somehow seemed older, yet not quite. And it was the same with Eustace, who turned out to be the youngest of the Kings.

Needless to say, the newcomer was feeling very self-conscious about stumbling upon this magnificent gathering in such a dirty, bloody, sweaty state. He looked at the still-kneeling Warder beside him, who had yet to barely even look up, thinking that she was probably feeling similarly embarrassed; however, instead of the grimy warrior with a knotted mess of hair and a dress dyed crimson by blood, there was a fair maiden with long, silky black hair and a clear, pale face in a soft, deep lavender gown with long, flowing bluish white sleeves. Similarly, he found himself suddenly fresh and clean in fine Narnian clothes.

"Sire," said Jill, coming forward and offering a graceful curtsy, "let me make you known to Peter the High King over all Kings in Narnia."

The named man was easy to point out among the group, as Tirian recognized him from the vision, though the High King looked far more noble, now. He couldn't help but notice that Katarina still wasn't looking at the noble figures…she probably either thought them to be visions or she was simply stunned by their presence. Regardless of what his friend's thoughts were, Tirian knelt before King Peter and kissed his hand in respect, saying,

"High King, you are welcome to me."

Though the Magnificent monarch formally made the Narnian stand and kissed both of his cheeks as a High King would be expected to do, there was a radiant, unbearable, almost sad excitement about him as he turned to introduce Tirian to the others present.

The eldest Queen, whose wrinkles and gray hairs from the vision had simply disappeared, was Lady Polly, who had come to Narnia on its First Day when Aslan made the trees grow and the Beasts talk; the eldest King with a great flowing golden beard and a wise face was Polly's companion from the First Day, Digory Kirke; the strong, dark-haired warrior with contemplative eyes was King Edmund the Just; the Queen with lustrous dark hair, dancing eyes, and a somewhat distant look was Queen Lucy the Valiant…

"And I believe you already know Warder Margaret," Peter finished, gesturing to the lady at King Edmund's side with wavy medium brown hair cascading down her back, looking like the perfect picture of contentment.

"Sire," the guest (at least he felt like a guest among these historical figures) finally said in confusion, "if I have read the chronicle aright, there should be another. Has not your Majesty two sisters? Where is Queen Susan?"

"My sister Susan," was the grim reply, "is no longer a friend of Narnia."

"Yes," Eustace added, "and whenever you've tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says 'What wonderful memories you have! Fancy you're still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.'"

"Oh Susan!" Jill exclaimed. "She's interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations. She always was a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up."

"Grown-up, indeed!" scoffed the matronly Lady Polly. "I wish she _would_ grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age. Her whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one's life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can."

"It's not _all_ her fault," Margaret offered thoughtfully. "We weren't exactly helpful when it came to warning her about that bulldog nerd of a husband of hers."

"She wanted that pretty little house and that limitless shopping allowance. She got it," Polly shot back.

Just then, Tirian realized that he had once again forgotten about his faithful Warder in the excitement, but, when he turned around, the High King was already standing before the kneeling figure. As soon as the man's shadow came over her, Katarina bent forward, burying her face in her hands, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the man about whom she had always talked so fondly was right before her.

"Kathryn, why do you hide?" Peter asked, a mysterious sadness overshadowing his joy.

"Why am I here?" the girl stuttered softly, still refusing to look up. "I failed in protecting Narnia. I lost the battle. I deserve to be in the hottest of fires, not among friends, trees, and cool, green grass."

"Do you honestly think that Aslan would make a mistake like that? Do you think Him capable of such foolishness?"

"Not at all."

"Then why doubt that you deserve to be here? Do you not think that enduring a thousand years of pain, hardship, and war is deserving of reward? I know you not to be so small-minded, Kate. Now, get up and quit making a fool of yourself." Slowly, the Warder obeyed, though she still didn't make eyes contact with the High King. Despite her misery, she was a radiant beauty more than worthy of the greatest of Kings. "Why do you refuse to look at me?"

"How do I know that this isn't just a dream and I am not simply unconscious in the stable, waiting to be killed by Aslan-knows-what? If I look at you, only to awaken, I think I would die of sheer despair. Even now, I can almost feel the straw under my feet and smell that horrid scent of manure."

"Abandon your despair, leave the barn behind, and look at me now, Kathryn."

Finally, their eyes met. The indescribable look on the girl's face almost made Tirian's heart melt. Somehow, she just seemed…different…more radiant.

"Oh, Peter, it really is you!"

When the woman hooked her arms around the King's neck for a passionate kiss, Eustace cleared his throat and awkwardly said to the others, his voice cracking,

"Look! Here are lovely fruit-trees. Let us taste them."

Looking back, Tirian suddenly realized what was changed about Katarina (other than the unusual joy): her eyes…instead of haunted and full of pained memories, they were vibrant and sparkling, like a clear brook in the sunlight.

* * *

"_Have you learned nothing of the stubbornness of Dwarves?"_

That line of Daisy's rang clear as the group finally turned away from the pitiful Dwarfs, trapped in a prison of their own minds, imagining that they were still in the stinking, filthy barn rather than in a fresh, green field.

The instant Margaret scoffed her comment, there was a flash of light behind them, revealing Aslan standing there. It was almost comical how frightened King Tirian seemed as he suddenly joined the others in kneeling before the great Lion after only turning to look hesitantly. But, the poor Last King's fears were crushed by Aslan's comforting words:

"Well done, last of the Kings of Narnia who stood firm at the darkest hour."

Upon His shouting of the word, "Time," the stable door flung open, revealing the area around the now-dead bonfire. It was so dark that, if not for the line separating the blackness that was the trees and the star-filled sky, it would have been impossible to tell that you were looking at a forest.

Just as they took in the confusing sights, however, a dark, towering figure rose on the horizon, blocking a pillar of stars with its presence.

"Yes," Aslan answered their unspoken wonderings. "While he lay dreaming, his name was Time. Now that he is awake he will have a new one."

A moment later, 'Time' appeared to hold something to his mouth; then, the horrifying, beautiful, dooming sound of a horn echoed across the land, apparently from the distant Giant.

As the silvery stars showered down to the earth at the horn's bidding, Peter finally came out of the sort of daze he had been in for those minutes between finally being able to hold Kathryn in his arms and Aslan's seeming stripping of Narnia. With the stars swiftly disappearing and leaving nothing but empty blackness in the sky, he looked at his human companions. Most were just staring with shock at the occurrences before them, but Edmund stood beside the High King, glancing with a puzzled look at the brown-haired Warder who had buried her face in his chest, refusing to look.

Kate was also seemingly perplexed as she stood stock still beside the young man with a single tear running down her face; but her eyes didn't show surprise in the least. She had seen this coming for years, probably. And he could only imagine the horror of watching a world fall with not a clue of their approaching fate. The horror in the woman's eyes only faded finally when he took her hand and comfortingly stroked it with his thumb.

The last of the stars, which were actually more like bright, flaming white people, fell from practically right over the watchers' heads. After their swift drop, those celestial beings simply went right past Aslan's group through the doorway, and stood directly behind them, giving off a glow that allowed them to still see nearby events.

The living floodlight allowed them to see fierce dragons and featherless birds slither into the Narnian forests, soon apparently provoking the mass exodus of the creatures within. In a sudden rush of movement, the shining eyes of hundreds and thousands of Talking Beasts, Dwarfs, Satyrs, Fauns, Giants, Calormenes, men of Archenland, Monopods, and peculiar beings from beyond the known world came running towards Aslan's doorway. While Peter could only watch in wonder, he felt Kate tense beside him upon seeing the giant race.

But her worry wasn't really necessary; many of the creatures, upon looking into the Lion's eyes – for they were all somehow provoked to do so – held utter hate and fear towards their Creator. The Talking Beasts who did this almost instantly lost their unique consciousness and reverted to ordinary animals; all who looked at Aslan in that way simply swerved to either side around the doorway and disappeared into the darkness, never to be seen again.

There were many also, however, who looked at Aslan with love in their eyes, even if it was sometimes mixed with fear, including some of the Dwarfs who had stood by during the Last Battle taunting both sides. Even a few who were assumed to be dead were among those who passed through the doorway, including Roonwit the Centaur, Jewel the Unicorn, who fondly nuzzled Tirian as he positioned himself behind the King, the good Boar, the good Bear, Farsight, Poggin, the Dogs, and the Horses.

"Further in and higher up!" Roonwit bellowed, taking off toward the West as most everyone returned their gaze to what was happening.

Peter, however, heard Daisy quietly mutter,

"But where are the Eagle and the Falcon?"

The lizards and other fearsome beasts went about after all the other creatures were gone, ripping out the trees and bushes and all other vegetation and gobbling them up as the grass simply wilted and shriveled to nothing. As the land became nothing but bare rock and earth, time seemed to warp. The dragon-ish things grew old, lay down, and died, and their bodies swiftly shriveled into nothing but dusty skeletons as thousands of years seemed to pass in mere seconds on the side of the doorway on which the watchers were standing.

Then the flood came in a fierce wave, overflowing the rivers and lakes, covering the hills and mountains, and rising more and more until the water lapped at Aslan's forepaws, leveling precisely at the height of the doorway.

The brightness of the stars behind them seemed suddenly dull compared to that of the rising sun…but the light wasn't quite right. The sun was many times larger than normal, and deep, dark red; its crimson rays made the floodwater appear as blood and the distant Giant likewise colored. The moon also rose, though its position was all wrong and its coloring was contorted by the sun's dull radiance. At the lunar appearance, the larger orb promptly began shooting out blinding flames, drawing its skyward companion to itself until they were one, upon which, the fury of the two celestial beings sent fire shooting into the water in frightful splashes of hissing steam.

None of the younger people understood what was happening, but the High King took note of the Professor and Aunt Polly's apparent knowledge in their exchanged nod, and also of Kathryn and Margaret's worried eye contact. But all questions were soon to be answered, for the great Lion finally opened His mouth and spoke a single command, His words echoing across the vast emptiness that had once been the beautiful, magical land of Narnia:

"Now, make an end."

Obediently, Father Time reached out his mighty arm towards the flaming ball of light and grasped it as one might an orange, crushing it in his fist in one breath-suspending moment until…

Instantly, all light in the wonderful old world disappeared in a flash of nothingness and a blast of artic-cold wind shot into the doorway. Everything appeared to freeze over, including all of the water, and long, big icicles quickly formed along the top of the magical entrance. Peter could only put a comforting arm around Kate's shoulders; he knew that both she and her cousin were concerned for the delayed appearance of Cadal and Aida.

From looking with utter horror upon the scene playing out before them, Jill looked off in the distance, pointing and gaping as she cried,

"Look! Look! They're alive!"

* * *

"Yes, yes, yes!" Daisy repeated, bobbing up and down on her toes and clapping like a child with anticipation.

Through the blizzard and the darkness, she could just make out two figures huddled together, battling to make their way through the storm towards the light of the doorway. Though they were covered in snow and bone white from the cold by the time they stumbled into the welcoming arms of the other Old Narnians, the duo was unmistakably Cadal the Eagle and his 'almost-mate' Aida the Falcon. Rushing with her fellow Warder to get them away from the cold and dusting the snow off of the stunned people, Margie barely heard Aslan's command to Peter to 'shut the door', but that was only the start of the confusion.

While Daisy was tackling Aida with a hug of relief at seeing her alive again, a accented masculine voice cried,

"Katarina!"

Turning around to find Kate giggling as she was twirled around by a strong, dark young man, the brunette only worked her mouth in shock. It was Caspian X, alive and well.

Then, she noticed other things: they weren't in the field with the doorway anymore; Cadal and Aida had run off together into the trees; Aslan, Edmund, and the others were nowhere to be seen and they were standing in the middle of a great garden with huge, beautiful fruit trees, grass, and bushes. And there were so many recognizable people! There was Mr. Tumnus the Faun, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Reepicheap, Roonwit (the Centaur that had nearly run Daisy over in his shouting of 'Further in and higher up!'), and so many others!

The snorting of a Horse caught her attention next.

"Gina!" the girl squeaked, sprinting over to throw her arms around the beautiful, previously practically suicidal, Animal's neck. "I thought I would never see you again!"

"I knew I would have the privilege of seeing you again, eventually," the still-cocky mare sniffed, fondly nuzzled her rider from so many years ago. "But we have much to tell each other of events from our parting until now."

"I am afraid that must wait, dear friend. I still need to find a few answers."

Apparently, Kathryn was thinking the same thing, for both women jointly abandoned greeting their long-lost acquaintances and walked side-by-side further up and further into the garden. Of course, they met more old friends, and there was quite a bit of shock in discovering the enthroned Frank and Helen, the first King and Queen of Narnia; but, after paying their respects, they still moved on, drawn deeper into the garden and up a great, forested mountain.

After a while (who knew how long it actually was!), when they had reached a great height, Daisy stopped to look back and exclaimed,

"Kate…do you recognize this place?"

The other Warder's eyes went wide at the view of the great plains, forests, mountains, rivers, and oceans.

"It's Narnia! But it's so much bigger and more beautiful…I didn't think that possible!"

"And look! Over there! It's England!"

"It can't be!"

"It unmistakably is, dear cousin. It's strange, though. Somehow, if you look at something hard enough, you feel as though it gets closer, like a telescope. I wonder…" Margaret focused on one particular part of London, where she and Kathryn had lived with her dad before the Blitz had taken him away and forced them under Aunt Polly's guardianship. Only, there wasn't just an empty house; there were people standing on the street, waving.

"Dad!" the brunette screamed, waving even more frantically when she saw the woman standing beside her father: the woman she hadn't seen for far too long. "Mum! Look, Kate! Do you see?"

Kathryn was waving as well, gentle sweeps of her arm in the air as tears trickled down her face and she also looked down at her long-dead parents.

"Are you happy, dear ones?" a warm, booming voice asked from a little further up.

The girls instantly ran to bury their faces in Aslan's warm, soft mane.

"Oh, Aslan, what is this place? I thought Narnia was gone. And how can England be just over there?"

"The Narnia and the England you knew were but shadows of this world. Here, nothing dies or fades."

"So," Kate cut in, "basically, it's like looking into a clear pond and seeing the reflection of a sunset. It's lovely, but it is nothing compared to the real thing." Aslan nodded His majestic head. "But we failed to protect Narnia from the Calormenes and from that horrible Ape. How can we deserve reward for failure?"

"There was no way you could have foreseen the infiltration of the Calormenes and held back both attack from without and civil war from within. It was merely the beginning of that world's end. Do you not think that you deserve some reward for everything life has put you through? You are the Warders of Narnia. Be proud to carry that title, for you have brought it nothing but honor. Over the hundreds of years, people heard and said the name with awe in their hearts, telling stories of your great adventures and deeds and finding courage through your example. Your trials are over; the adventure has just begun."

* * *

After some confusion, the Kings, the Queens, and everyone else had finally found their way to the garden and to Aslan on the great hill. The Warders had contentedly joined their lovers and the Lion had finally shared with the Pevensies, the Professor, Jill, and the others that they had all died in a railway accident. No one had a problem with that, because it meant they would never have to leave.

Margaret pulled out of a kiss with her arms around Edmund's neck and, with a teasing giggle, exclaimed,

"We made it! And, quite literally, we'll be together forever."

"You know, that's probably the most cheesy thing you could have ever said at a moment like this," the King mused, winking at his own jest.

Kathryn only breathed in relief, putting most of her weight into Peter's chest and looking more at peace than she had in over a thousand years. For the cousins, it all seemed like an impossible dream.

Both Warders and their royal lovers hadn't been this overjoyed and at peace since…well, since never. In the past, there had always been something in the way of their blooming romances, the greatest being Peter and Kathryn's separation by worlds and Edmund and Margaret's division by age and time. Now, all of those blockades were gone, no more to haunt the eternal pairs.

Aida and Cadal, on their part, were sitting on an overhead tree branch, completely oblivious to anything else around them, which was rather odd for either ever-watchful Bird. They, too, seemed at last content and would no more have a care or worry for anything, since they had everything they ever wanted: they had succeeded in their duties to Aslan, they had peace, and they had each other.

"But what of dear Susan?" Daisy suddenly objected, finally showing a sign of worry. "I can't be here knowing that I didn't try to save her."

"But we all tried, Margie," the Just King replied.

"It simply doesn't settle right."

Then, Kate finally spoke up, still leaning with her back against Peter's broad chest.

"I think I have an idea, cousin…with Aslan's approval, of course. I was thinking, as one last mission together, you and I could go to Earth and…open the eyes of the Gentle Queen. Do you think that would be acceptable, Aslan?"

The great Lion smiled warmly.

"You both speak wisely. But keep in mind that she believes you, Margaret, to be missing or dead and you, Kathryn, not to exist at all."

* * *

Slamming the passenger door of her car, the dazzling brunette with bright red lipstick on her luscious lips and a black silk skirt and jacket jogged up the stairs, her black heels clacking on the stone steps. As she rifled through her purse for her keys, the man with glasses still next to the car loudly yelled,

"Susan!"

With a choking sob, the woman rushed into the two-floor brick town house and into the first-floor bathroom, where she dropped her purse and leaned against the sink with utter despair crashing down. After she managed to calm herself for the tenth time that day alone, she looked into the mirror and began gently pressing the dark circles under her eyes with her index fingers, wondering at how they weren't even worse since everyone she loved had died less than a week previously.

"Susan!" he husband boomed again, slamming the front door and storming to the bathroom doorway. "Susan, you need to get ahold of yourself. They're all _gone_. Now, move on."

"No, Robert," she said without too much resolve.

"_Yes_, Susan. Ugh…I need a drink."

"Good riddance," she muttered.

As soon as Robert was upstairs, Susan grabbed her purse and headed back out for a drive, rubbing the day-old bruise on her neck the whole way.

Parking downtown and running into a shop, her favorite refuge, the former Pevensie finally subdued her panic when she stopped in front of a rack full of satin nightgowns and began thumbing through the soft materials. As a shaky breath took over, the girl's eyes wandered toward the windows, though her hands continued caressing the cloth. What she saw took that breath away: a faint vision of two women crossing the street towards the shop.

Swiftly turning to her faint view of the entrance in wonder, Susan squinted her eyes at the two pairs of black laced boots and the matching shin-length, button-up grey dresses, but didn't have the chance to see the faces.

"Mrs. Engalls?" the shopkeeper, a blooming young blonde, queried. "Is there anything I can help you find?"

"No, Gertrude," the regular shopper replied, returning her attention to the front and finding her targets gone.

Refusing to give up, Su walked quickly to the back of the shop, where at least a dozen chairs, large mirrors, and clothes hooks lined the sort of wide hallway for perspective buyers. The only other present occupants of the area were the two women, neither of which had yet to notice the housewife.

"I told you should have put your hair up, Kate," the brunette with wild hair in a tight bun at the back of her neck growled to her black-haired companion whose long tresses cascaded over her shoulders and nearly onto the seat she was occupying. While the primary speaker had a very slim, almost stick-like shape as someone built for quick getaways and seemed to have a sort of hidden strength with the way she held herself, the other had sort of a strong but soft and resigned appearance of someone who had lived through a life of hardship – like a pre-Raphaelite painting.

"I don't 'put it up' even for battle. You should know that," that one formally answered, squirming in the chair.

The slim one sat down next to her companion, visibly biting her tongue.

"What is wrong with you, anyway? I may have suggested this venture, but I distinctly remember you backing me, you old lady."

Raven-hair's lip trembling slightly, revealing the stiff demeanor to merely be a farce.

"It's…it's just…this is the first time in about a…thousand years, for me – being back here…as _myself_."

"Mm-hm. Well, I can tell you that that war is momentarily not wracking the country like it was when we first left and a few interesting inventions have come about; however, not a terrible amount has changed – as far as I ever cared, that is. The cities are busy, the people are busy, and life, for most, flies by with a blink of the eye and no one ever notices."

"Humph. I am glad I stayed behind, then. How could you stand living among all of these buildings, cousin? I would have suffocated without the trees to give me comfort."

"It's not all that bad."

"Yes, well…" In that instant, raven-hair turned to rack behind which Susan had been finding cover in her eavesdropping, though she looked away as she rose from her chair and began what looked like pacing. "It seems that both of us are a bit rusty. I suggest that we find a place where we can train and…"

With that, she cut off and rushed with surprising swiftness to the rack, where she snatched Susan by the hair and dragged her not too gently back to the little hall, where the girl was deposited on a chair. The spy didn't quite know whether to apologize for peering in on the conversation or rant about being hauled along like a common criminal, so shock held her tongue for a moment. Then, she finally got a good look at the brunette.

"Daisy!"

"Nice to see you too, Susan," she replied, grinning in an almost creepy fashion as she stood over the surprised captive.

For a moment, the shock took over again. Margaret Benten was supposed to be _dead_!

"Dais, I…I thought… How can you be here? I saw the train run off the tracks just as I was coming to meet you! They saw all of you _dead_, Margaret! And now you happen to waltz into this shop as though nothing happened, when I just got back from everyone's funeral and I've spent the last week mourning your deaths and…"

"Whoa, whoa, easy, Su," Margie cut in, placing her hand firmly on the woman's shoulder. "You're right, I am technically dead, but let's just say I had a card to play and I played it by coming here to you to show you the right path."

"We both did…but, in my case, I was never alive as far as the inhabitants of this world are concerned, certain persons accepted."

Susan gaped at the last speaker, the raven-haired lady with expressive blue-gray eyes. Most of her had no recognition for the girl; however, some long-buried sliver of the old Susan cried out and brought forward memories of this same woman. The name seemed rather foreign, like a language out of practice, but it came.

"Kathryn?"

Kate smiled slightly, bowing her head.

"It seems there is hope after all for Queen Susan the Gentle. Come; there are things we need to discuss. It has been at least a thousand years since I sat down for a proper teatime."

"Come on!" Daisy laughed, hazel eyes sparkling as she grabbed Su's hand and pulled her up. "Let us remind you of Magic and Lions and Fauns and Beavers, dear Queen."

The End

Well, my fellow Narnians-at-heart, that is the end of my tale in regards to the adventures of the Warders of Narnia and their friends, companions, enemies, and lovers. While I left Susan's ultimate fate still at a bit of a cliffhanger, I hope this telling brings at least a little satisfaction. Thanks to all of my wonderful readers and reviewers for your support through this sometimes grueling and sometimes amazing literary trip.

And, for my next magical trick, I'll start working on my Inheritance Cycle fanfic, 'I'll Stand By You', sometime very soon, though I don't know what sort of updating schedule I will have due to college starting in about a month. Scary stuff. Hopefully, I will be able to get a few initial chapters for it out before then, since my only big priority will be my part-time job...and a beach trip...and an early college assignment... ;)

May the Force be with you, may the stars watch over you, and may you always find water and shade!


End file.
